A Phoenix Within The Dying Flames
by waterlily12
Summary: She refuse to become a Pokemon Trainer, haunting memories. No one matches his skills in battle, no formidable rivals. Two dying flames endanger of fading from existence. Will Serena and Calem be able to re-light their flames when the world is threatened? Or will their light vanish for good? A phoenix sleep within each, awaiting for their final decisions. Will it be Life or Death?
1. Chapter 1 - No Thank you

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>An empty pokeball was placed on something solid, like cement, but the area was also surrounded by grass and other carefully carved stones. Sadden sliver - grey eyes watched it poignantly and restraining anymore emotions that may leak. The gaze showed nothing but hopelessness and of a diminished light. All energy that they once held was no longer there.<em>

_The pair of eyes closed and two droplet of tears shone in the coming darkness, splattering onto the ground and letting all the emotions burst within those two droplets. Footsteps were heard and the pair of hollow eyes were never seen in the premise again, but two words echoed through the open silence._

_"I'm sorry."_

* * *

><p>The cold morning wind rustled the leaves next to a house in Vaniville Town. The window behind it has its curtains wide open and revealing what the room looks like inside. Pink and white walls, several boxes left untouched; a bed near the corner, next to the window, with a girl sleeping soundly on it.<p>

The wind pounded on the the window and visible sunlight radiated on the honey brown hair girl's face. She groaned and turn around, covering her head with her blanket. She didn't want to wake up just yet, after all the moving and jet lag, she needed more sleep. Besides, the morning is so cold, it just makes the girl want to hibernate.

"Serena!"

The said girl refused to respond to the voice of her mom. She snuggled even more into her blanket.

"SERENA!"

Still no response from the girl. Little did Serena know, she was going to get a rude awakening.

A little robin Pokemon flew in from the window, prompting to wake Serena up with the prodding of its beak. _"Serena, wake up! Your mom's calling!"_

All the brunette could hear was chirping of Fletching's own name but it was enough to annoy her.

"Leave me alone." Serena mumbled, tossing around.

_"Don't make me do this Serena..."_ Fletchling made more efforts to try to _gently _wake her up but to no avail. Some time passed and the little robin Pokemon grew _very _annoyed by the stubborn girl.

_"That's it!"_ A vein popped on its little red head, then proceed to soar up and direct its beak towards Serena. With one good dive, a scream of pain can be heard throughout the house, which was followed by the sound of the honey brown hair girl dropping out of bed.

Serena rub her head from hitting the floor, forgetting that her stomach hurts like hell. Her eyes glared daggers up at the little flying type. "Robin…did you really have to do that?"

The robin Pokemon perch on her head and jerk its head the other way with sass, as if saying 'so what?'

The brunette's eyes twitched in annoyance, she so wanted to strangle the bird.

A chuckle was heard by the door and Serena turn to see her mom, Grace, leaning by the door frame. Fletchling immediately flew to her and she gave it a scratch under its chin as if to say a job well done.

"Robin is only doing its job."

"Not a very good job," The girl growled, rubbing her aching stomach. "I won't even be able to eat."

"It would help if you woke up earlier," her mom quipped, then look around the room to see unopened boxes. "And why haven't you unpacked?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "We moved in yesterday."

"At least unpack one box."

"Why should I?" She protested, folding her arms. "We're bound to move again sooner or later."

"Serena, please," Grace said in exasperation. "At least arrange some things in your room so that it wouldn't look so empty. These things are yours so don't expect me to unpack for you. And I'm not cleaning a room full of boxes."

Her mom turned around, about to head downstairs. "Oh, and breakfast is ready."

Serena sighed, getting up and open the box that's marked _CLOTHES; _she just took out a random set and put it on just so that her mom won't be fussing as much about her appearance. She change out of her pink pajamas and into a black blouse, red skirt, and black stockings; a strange - looking, black bracelet with a colorful stone embedded in it was kept on her wrist.

The brunette took a look at herself in the mirror and huffed at the state of her hair. She fished out a comb from the boxes and combed her hair of every knot so that it's neat and presentable.

Serena look in the mirror again and felt that something was missing.

"Oh, right."

She look on the dresser next to her bed to find a red felt hat with white framed sunglasses resting on it. How could she forget about her precious hat? Serena ambled over to get the item, but she took a moment's time to gaze at it, thinking of how much memory the hat held for her and yet it was still in good condition after all this time.

Serena made her way downstairs, putting her hat on while she was at it. When she got into the kitchen, the brunette saw the table already with a plate of pancakes and a cup of hot chocolate.

"Now there's my little girl." Grace smiled, satisfied that her daughter was finally awake and dressed, but she did question as to why Serena wasn't wearing clothes appropriate for the weather.

"It's not that cold." Serena deadpanned, sitting down to eat her breakfast.

"You're going to catch a cold if you go outside like that." Grace frowned.

"Really mom, I'm fine like this. It's not like I'm planning on going out anyways." Serena pressed on, though she was really half telling the truth. Sure she feel a bit cold but she didn't want to go back and change again. Besides, she's not going to go outside when she have her things to unpack.

"At least smile a little."

Serena ignored the comment, deeming it useless to her. Does her mom realize how much work smiling could waste? All the contraction in the muscles. Keeping a scowl on Serena's face was much more easier than forcing a smile and waste less of her energy.

The doorbell rang, interrupting Serena's peaceful breakfast. Seeing that her mom was busy, Serena sighed and scraped out of her chair. "I'll get it."

Upon opening the door, the brunette was greeted by two people. A boy that looked to be around her age, he had raven hair and electric-blue eyes. A red cap with black framed glasses rested on his head. He wore a blue and white jacket that went up to his neck, blue pants and brown boots. A black messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

The girl next to her looks younger, with chestnut brown hair and...four pigtails tied in a unique fashion. She wore a hot pink blouse with black ribbons trailing down the middle, blue denim-jean shorts, and pink shoes. She had a pink and white mini purse strapped to her shoulder.

_"__Bonjour -" _SLAM!

Serena had closed the door on them when they spoke.

"Serena, who was it?"

The brunette look at her mom, who was carrying a box. "I don't know, they didn't speak Central PokeLang."

"Serena," Her mom scolded at her knowingly. "Don't close the door on them just because you don't want to interact with other people and dealing with their foreign language."

"Mom, have you ever heard of stranger danger?" The brunette retaliated with her arms waving up in emphasis. The doorbell rang again and Serena groaned, knowing that it's those two teenagers again. She flung open the door again, while maintaining a poker face.

_"Pourquoi avez-vous -"_

The brunette held up her hand to stop the girl before she could continue. "Mind speaking in something I can understand?" That came out ruder than she wanted but Serena could care less about it right now.

"Ah sorry!" the girl said, with way too much energy to Serena's liking. She was bouncing up and down, then bowing apologetically.

"I get too excited sometimes that I speak in my native language!"

"..." _Then lose that excitement of yours._

"Anyways!" She started to bounce again, much to the brunette's annoyance. "I'm Shauna and this is Calem!"

She motioned to the boy next to him, who seemed to be taking an interest at the structure of the house.

"We're here to welcome you to the neighborhood! Calem and I are your neighbors!"

The brunette only nodded in response, wanting to speak as less as possible. She had the urge to close the door in their face again.

"Oh! While we're also here to welcome you, we're here to get you out of here!"

"Wait what?" Serena scrutinized her brows. She was getting suspicious of these people. It was strange to have people welcoming her to the neighborhood then the next thing they blurt out is that they're going to taking her from her house.

"What Shauna meant was that we're kidnapping you," Calem said with a tone of carelessness, though finally directing his gaze to the brunette. Serena wondered if he could read minds or something, because that's exactly what she was thinking.

He saw Serena's suspicious look and smirked. "Can't take a joke can you?" A tick mark appeared on the brunette's head. She was starting to dislike this boy more and more than she already have.

"Anyways, we just want you to come with us to Aquacorde Town."

"And...for what reason if I may ask?"

"Are you familiar with Prof. Sycamore?" He asked out of the blue.

"No." Serena lied. Of course she knew the Kalos Professor, but she wasn't just going to blurt it out to a bunch of strangers that she just met.

"You're not?" He raised an inquisitive brow. "How is it that you don't know who the world-renown Professor is, yet he knows you, who just moved here?"

Serena rolled her eyes at his conceited tone of voice. _How would you react if I tell you he's actually my uncle and that he's not that big of a deal to me?_

"Oh oh!" Shauna raised her hand as if she was in class. "I never got your name!"

"...Serena."

"Okay then, guess what Serena?" Shauna chimed in the same enthusiasm that doesn't seem to be wearing off anytime soon. "Prof. Sycamore wants us to get a Pokemon to go on a Kalos journey to help in his research!"

"...Sorry, but did I just hear Pokemon and journey in the same sentence?" The brunette asked for confirmation, earning her a curious look from raven hair male. He caught a glimpse of the haunting look that those silver - grey eyes held before it disappeared.

_What was that...? _Calem wondered.

"Yep! Pro. Sycamore wants to give the three of us a Pokemon so that we can explore Kalos and help him with his research!" Shauna repeated, still bouncing in excitement, oblivious to the sudden change of mood.

"...No thank you." Serena deadpanned, about to close the door, but Calem stopped her from doing it by thrusting his hand against the wooden surface of the blue door.

"Why not?" He asked. "Not everyone gets a chance of getting a Pokemon and traveling the world at our age. We should be happy that Prof. Sycamore chose us out of everyone else."

Serena gripped the door knob tightly, pursing her lips. "I want neither, so would you leave me alone so I can go back to unpacking?"

"But…" Shauna said, disappointment filled her voice. "The Professor already arranged it."

"I don't care," Serena replied coldly, her eyes growing icy like the weather. "If he thinks that he can decide on things without telling me, he's sadly mistaken."

"But the three Pokemon are waiting to be picked by a trainer!" Calem argued, not knowing why he cared so much to get the girl to change her mind, it's not like it mattered to him. "You can't just let one of them get their hopes up and be send back to Prof. Sycamore."

That made Serena hesitated for a bit but she was still firm in her decision. She shook her head, these two were persuading the wrong person.

"Serena?" Grace called within the household. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing mom," she replied and then turned back to the duo. "If that's all you want from me, then we're done here."

Before they could do anything, she slammed the door on them. Serena leaned against the wooden surface, her bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Are you okay Serena?" Grace asked in concern, coming from the living room.

"I'm fine," The brunette replied, looking up. Her eyes were now as cold as ice. "Mom, I need the phone, where is it?"

"Oh um...it's somewhere…" She thought for a moment, then something click. "Use the Holo Caster on the table."

"Thanks."

"Serena," Grace furrowed her brows. "Is it...about traveling?"

The girl froze on her way to the glass table to grab the Holo Caster. She clench her hands into fists, knowing that she couldn't hide anything from her mom.

"Did Uncle tell you about this?"

"Actually...yes," Grace replied tentatively. "He only called this morning when you're asleep."

"..." Serena didn't make any more comment and made a grab for the device. She turned it on and scrolled through the list of contacts until she reached one that was labeled as _AUGUSTINE SYCAMORE _and pressed the _CALL _button.

_"Bonjour~!"_ came Prof. Sycamore's voice. A holographic picture of the man appeared, showing he had wavy purple hair and wear a lab coat over a purple shirt.

"Uncle, who told you that I would agree to this?" Serena seethed.

_"Ah, hello my peu nièce!"_

"Cut to the chase" The brunette growled.

The Professor sighed,_ "I just thought that you would like that chance."_

"Like it? Why would I like it?" Serena retorted. "There's nothing to like about it anymore! Why did you have to decide on that without asking me first?!"

_"Serena…"_

"Uncle, you know what happened," She continued. "I don't want to repeat that again. I never _ever _want to be a Pokemon Trainer again."

Prof. Sycamore gave her a sympathetic look. _"I just thought that this would help you. You were so much happier in the past, if only..."_

Serena only shook her head. "The past can't be changed anymore and this isn't going to help me; it'll only make it worst. That happy Serena you knew is gone."

_"If that's really what you want…"_

"Uncle, I'm sorry," Serena said apologetically. "You'll have to chose a different person for your research. I don't want the last Pokemon to be disappointed that it's not going to be picked. And don't tell the other people you chose about this, I rather them not know about our family connection."

The brunette terminated the call before her uncle can respond. She trudged up to her room, with her mom looking after her. Grace sighed and return to what she was doing. Things really haven't been the same since _that_ happened. Grace wished that Serena wouldn't linger in the past for so long. It wasn't her fault.

Grace opened a box to reveal a red device. Serena must've put it there by accident. She was about to call her down but decide against it. She probably wouldn't even want to look at it, but she does wonder why she kept the device. Maybe there's still a ray of hope.

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><p>At Aquacorde Town<p>

"Where's the third?" ask a rather corpulent boy with a black shirt and Torchic hair style. Shauna plopped down onto her seat dejectedly while Calem just heaved a sigh.

"She didn't want to." He replied, sitting down at the cafe table outside of the store.

"What?" spoke a ginger head, he wore a white collared shirt with a green sweater vest. "What do you mean?"

"He means that Serena didn't want a Pokemon nor did she want to explore Kalos with us." Shauna explained with dull tone.

"What?!" Both boys exclaimed in shock.

"I don't understand why anyone would reject an offer like that." Calem muttered, strangely upset over something like this. He was usually calm and collected, not getting bothered by anything, and yet, that girl broke that shell. There was also something else that was bothering him though, have he seen the brunette somewhere before? She looked slightly familiar.

"Maybe we should try again later!" Shauna exclaimed with fire of determination burning up in her eyes and bringing the boy out of his reverie.

"Maybe…" Calem replied idly, pressing his face on the palm of his hand as he lean on the table

"Well, let's choose your Pokemon first." The huge boy said, taking out a capsule that had three pokeballs in it.

Who will they choose?

* * *

><p>Ding - Dong! Ding - Dong!<p>

They had expected Serena to open the door but it was her mother instead, or who they assume to be her mother.

"Hello! You must be the ones that talked with Serena earlier!"

Calem nodded his head. "Yes m'am. I'm Calem, these are my friends Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno."

He pointed to each of them respectively. "May we have a talk with Serena?"

"What do you want?" came Serena's idle voice from the window on the second floor. Her elbow was propped up against the window frame and she was resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"Serena," Calem started. "Please reconsider this."

"...No." She replied with an icy tone and shut her window and curtains.

Grace sighed, looking at the teens apologetically. "I'm sorry but Serena's really stubborn when she decides on something."

"Hey! That's just like you Calem!" Shauna piped, earning a look from the raven hair male.

"Why would she turn down something like this?" He asked of Grace.

"That's something...personal. I can't say it unless Serena wants me too," Grace replied with an apologetic smile. "I do appreciate you kids for not giving up. You would make great friends for her…"

"Could you convince her for us?" Shauna asked with a pleading look. Grace shook her head. "She can't be swayed about this subject, not even by me. Now, I'm sure you kids have a journey to go on so please don't let my daughter be an obstacle in your path already."

"..." Calem frowned. He didn't seem satisfied with this but he couldn't do anything else but to oblige and bid them goodbye. He doubt that Serena would even listen to them since they only just met and she looked to be the anti-social type, a bit like him as well. He was only ever comfortable with the few friends he made.

"I'm going to discuss the situation with Professor Sycamore." Trevor said as they walk back through Route 1.

Shauna and Tierno sighed while Calem stayed silent.

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><p>A few days later<p>

It was a beautiful day in Laverre Town.

A girl with blonde hair and emerald green eyes stretched her arms on the small balcony of her room. Her face looked remarkably similar to a certain brunette.

She sighed in content and then cast her gaze down the street to see people walking by. She saw some people with Pokemon by their sides and look at them with envy. She wished that she could get a Pokemon and start her own journey.

"I wonder how he's doing?" She muttered absentmindedly and then ambled back into her room.

Downstairs, the phone rang, telling everyone in the room that someone's calling them.

* * *

><p>"Serena! A package arrive for you!"<p>

"Who's it from?" The brunette inquired. It seemed kind of strange to be getting a package since Serena didn't know a lot of people and even if she did, she hadn't stayed in contact with them.

"It's from your uncle!"

"Oh."

Serena got off the couch to stare down at the dull brown package on the table. There was a letter bind beneath the strings.

She opened the letter and detected a strong fragrance. She immediately held it away from her nose, wondering why her uncle would put that much on a piece of paper or why he bothered to spray any at all.

_Pour ma chère nièce,_

_I know you didn't want to go on a journey but please take this anyways. I think you're the best choice for this job. Take care of it even if you don't want to travel around Kalos._

_Amour, votre oncle Sycamore_

Serena stared at the package, then back at the letter, and back again. She sighed, "What am I going to do with you now?"

* * *

><p>A year later<p>

Airplanes flew to and fro from the Kalos airport and the people rushing to get to the right terminal. At one of them, a certain honey brunette walked out with a red suitcase. She wore a red, unzipped hoodie with a black shirt underneath. Her blue jeans were tucked into brown boots. She had her hair up into a high ponytail. The girl still had her red felt hat, sunglasses, and the strange bracelet on her wrist.

"That was a great race!" her mom exclaimed while giving her arms a stretch.

The girl stopped and huffed, turning around to face her mom. "Mom, how many tours and tournaments are you going to go on? That last one lasted for two months."

"But Rhyhorn racing is just so fun Serena~!" Grace answered with a smile; Fletchling perched on her shoulder. Her daughter only gave her an idle look before making her way out of the air port.

"You're going to run out of trophy space." The brunette muttered under her breath.

Serena couldn't believe that they lived in Kalos for a little over a year - the longest they'd stayed at any place before - yet they rarely set foot at that house at all! What was the use of all that unpacking that she did when they moved in? It was ridiculous!

"Mom, can I just stay in Kalos the next time you go to an out-of-the-region trip?" Serena requested hopefully.

"Hm…" Grace looked thoughtful for a moment. "But sweetie, no one will be at home."

"I can take care of myself."

"...I'll think about it."

Serena sighed as a taxi came a pick them up from the airport. "To Lumiose City please."

The brunette gave her mother an incredulous look and asking as to why they're going there instead of back to Vaniville Town.

"I just thought that we can use this time to visit your uncle and go shopping!"

Serena's eyes twitched at the latter. "Mom...you do know how I hate shopping right?"

Grace's smile never fade from her face, it turned somewhat sadistic. "You'll love it! There are so many shops at Lumiose! We should've gone more often!"

Serena bang her head against the window, someone need to save her from the upcoming torture.

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><p><strong>I know, I already got a X and Y fanfic but the 'What If' question came to my mind... :P<strong>

**Translation (Just in case you need them)**

_Bonjour - Hello_

_Pourquoi avez-vous - Why did you_

_Peu - Little_

_Chère nièce - Dear niece_

_Amour, votre oncle Sycamore - Love, your Uncle Sycamore_

**I guess I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**Read, Review & Relax~**


	2. Chapter 2 - It's Boring At The Top

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>He sat on top the highest hill; electric blue eyes watching over every trainer that tried to get at him for the title. Each time they reach him, they would be send back down in a matter of minutes. He was tired of this unchanging routine.<em>

_He fought against the eight giants; Bug, Rock, Fighting, Grass, Electric, Fairy, Psychic, and Ice. He won them all. He fought with the Elites and triumph over them. Then came the Champion. She finally gave him a challenge, but was defeated in the end as well._

_As the duty was passed onto him, he thought that he had finally done it. But it wasn't what he had expected when he achieved his goal. He was warned by the former Champion, but he didn't heed to it._

_All of them weren't even a challenge for him to begin with._

_It was just too easy._

_He wanted the leave this Olympian hill, but he couldn't. It was his job to greet every trainer who wanted to challenge him for the title of Champion. He could just lose on purpose, but he already established himself as the strongest trainer there was. He couldn't afford to lose all the respect that he had gain if he was to give up his title that easily._

_But was the title worth all the paparazzi and time?  
><em>

_Something was missing and he couldn't figure out what._

_Calem sat on top of that hill, idly gazing down on everyone who was climbing to the top, to him. He knows that he won't be stepping down anytime soon._

_"This is boring."_

* * *

><p>"Aw..." whined a blonde hair girl who tied her long hair in low twin tails. She returned her Pokemon back into her pokeball. "You beat me again..."<p>

The raven haired boy returned an idle gaze while standing perfectly still after returning his Pokemon. "You're getting better Yvonne; just need some more training."

"But Calem! You beaten me in every single practice battle that we fought in!" The blonde pouted childishly.

The boy shrugged. "Training makes perfect."

"...Isn't the saying 'practice makes perfect'?" The girl raised an inquisitive brow.

"I say it my way and you say it yours." Calem smirked subtly. Yvonne blushed slightly but it went unnoticed by the raven haired boy.

Yvonne always asked Calem to help train her even though they were supposed to be rivals. They been rivals since they met in Lumiose City after receiving a Pokedex from Prof. Sycamore. He was the best trainer in the region so what's better than to ask the best for help? But there was another(different) reason as to why she wanted, specifically, Calem to help her.

She just wanted to spend more time with the raven hair male. But he was oblivious to her feelings. Yvonne had a crush on Calem before they even met in Lumiose. It was back when they were younger. He had saved the blonde from falling down a tree that was guarded by two Poochyena and a Mightyena. But he disappeared just as he arrived.

The blonde still remembered clearly while Calem couldn't. It sadden her that he had forgotten about her but she didn't blame him since it was only a brief meeting after all.

After finding out that she was going to be traveling with Calem and his friends, Yvonne was elated. She thought that it was fate that brought them together again. From then on, she was more love - struck than before. However, she was also among the throng of girls that admired Calem, which was also probably why he wasn't interested in romance. Having so many girls after his heart can really traumatize a boy... at least to Calem.

"I need to go." Calem stated, looking at the time on his Holo Caster. Without another moment of waiting, he called out his Altaria and climb on.

"Isn't it too early?" Yvonne queried in slight disappointment that he was leaving already.

The ebony male jerked his thumb behind him to a dust cloud coming their way. "If we don't split, then we're going to be run over by questions."

Yvonne giggled but nonetheless agreed. They were both pretty well known in the Kalos region. Calem being the Champion and Yvonne being right behind him. She was the only trainer that have a chance to match the boy's skills, other than Diantha, the former Champion, but she had taken a break from the battling world and now giving all her focus on her acting career.

"See you later in Lumoise," Calem called over the flapping of Altaria's wings.

"Wait, you're going?!" The blonde inquired in disbelief.

The ebony male chuckled. "Shauna's going to complain my ears off if I don't go." The Humming Pokemon soar higher. "Later!" and he and his Pokemon disappear from sight.

Yvonne waved before sending out her Talonflame and fly off before the reporters could catch her.

...

Calem didn't realize where he had ended up at until he actually got there. It was his home, Vaniville Town. He hadn't been here for a while so he guessed that he could used this chance to visit. However, when he returned Altaria, Calem didn't go to his own house; instead, he stopped in front of the entrance of the house next to his. His neighbor's.

Calem read the surname on the plaque that was attached to the stone wall surrounding the house. He had read this before when he first step foot into the yard.

"Resident of the Yuuki Family." He muttered. Calem looked into the yard to see that the grass was unkempt and wild. It looked like the yard hadn't been tended for a long time. There was a picnic blanket laying on one side of the yard's walkway. Last time Calem remembered, there was a Rhyhorn sleeping on it.

The ebony boy strolled up to the door, wondering why he was here in the first place. It was like his body went on auto - pilot when he wasn't paying attention.

He hadn't seen the girl since the day they parted on their journey. Have she changed her mind at all during this whole time? The boy wouldn't mind seeing the regretful look she would give if she did change her mind.

...What was her name again? Serena?

Calem frowned slightly. It was strange how was he able to remember her name even now? And he could also remember clearly as to how the conversation went when they met and told Serena the news.

_"...Sorry, but did I just hear Pokemon and journey in the same sentence?"_

He couldn't forget the haunting and remorse look in the brunette's eyes.

Calem rang the bell, half expecting Serena to answer the call like they were old friends or something.

Nothing happened.

The boy tried again but when nothing happened the second time, he furrowed his brows. Were they not home today?

Calem sighed, he'll just have to come back another time. But then he questioned himself as to why he had bothered to come here. Why did he wanted to talk to Serena all of a sudden?

"What's wrong with me today?" The ebony male mumbled to himself while running a hand through his hair.

Calem left the property and didn't bother visiting his own house. His parents were probably busy with work that they haven't come back yet. When he strolled out of town, onto Route 1, and into Aquacorde Town, he was caught by a reporter. The male mentally cursed himself for lowering his guard.

"Calem, how does it feel to have defeated Diantha and becoming Champion?" A microphone was jabbed in front of him and he arched slightly back at the closeness.

"Uh...it's...great." The ebony male answered tentatively; his mind wasn't processing straight at the moment.

"Have you face any challenging opponents yet?"

Calem shook his head. "Not yet." But he really wished that he will be able to soon.

"What about Yvonne Faye? I heard that you two are pretty close, even for rivals. Not only that, you two were seen together all the time!"

Calem frowned and grew annoyed at this fact. While Yvonne and him are close, he was only with Yvonne because she asked a favor of him and it was in his field of expertise. "She's just a close friend of mine, and please don't try to bring up my nonexistent love life."

The report ranted on and on, to the point that Calem just don't really care and want to get out of this as fast as possible.

"Sorry but I have to meet up with a few friends of mine." He said, cutting the interview short and called out his Altaria, then hopped on. Without another word, he flew off.

"Stupid paparazzi." Calem muttered and then turn to direct his Pokemon. "Aria, we're going to Lumiose."

The Humming Pokemon voiced out its name and sped off.

* * *

><p>"Serena! Grace!" Prof. Sycamore welcomed with open arms when they came into the lab. "Accueil!"<p>

He gave a Kalosian greeting to Grace; by hugging her and kissing her on both cheeks. He was going to do it to Serena but she stopped him.

"Non merci" She said in monotone, raising her palm up as a stop sign.

"You're learning Kalosian pretty quickly!" He complimented. Serena mentally cursed herself for that just rolled off her tongue. She meant to say it in the Central PokeLang.

"How did it go?"

Grace held up a trophy for him to see. "Just perfect!" She exclaimed.

"Fantastique!" He clapped in amazement at another of Grace's win.

"Mom...can I stay here while you go shopping? I'm tired and I'm getting a jet lag." Serena requested, already starting to look around the lab.

"Are you sure Serena?" Grace inquired in concern.

The brunette didn't respond when she was already sitting on the couch, turning on the T.V with the remote she found lying around.

Grace sighed in disappointment and told Prof. Sycamore to watch her daughter until she comes back.

The first thing that came on when Serena turned the T.V. on was the news channel, and something on it completely captivated her interest.

_"Today, we'll be interviewing the Champion of Kalos!"_ The camera changed angles and up came a boy that Serena recognized as the one of the people that tried to get her to go on a journey. The raven hair boy had a different appearance. He was wearing an unbuttoned, black shirt jacket with a white shirt underneath, his sleeves were rolled up to elbow length. He had brown jeans to match up.

The brunette didn't expect him to have already gone all the way up there already. It looked like that news reporter caught Calem while he was going somewhere.

_"Calem, how does it feel to have defeated Diantha and becoming Champion?"_

_"Uh...it's...great."_ Serena raised a brow at this. His answer completely contradicted his tone and face.

_"Have you face any worthy challengers yet?"_

_Calem shook his head._ _"Not yet."_

_"What about Yvonne? I heard that you two are pretty close, even for rivals."_

_Calem frowned in mild agitation. "She's just a close friend of mine, and please don't try to bring up my nonexistent love life."_

The brunette was amused by his answer. _How modest._

"Biscuits?" Serena's uncle offered, giving her a tray of biscuits with tea. "Thanks."

"Watching the news huh?" Prof. Sycamore said with interest. "It might have been you on there."

"I got nothing to regret," Serena stated confidently, taking a bit. "And I rather not be broadcast throughout the region. Stupid paparazzi are always annoying." But the paparazzi in Kalos was definitely different than those of other regions. They were more nosy than the others.

_"Sorry but I have to meet up with a few friends of mine."_ _Calem said, interrupting the interview to call out his Altaria and hopped on. Without another word, he flew off._

Serena reached for the remote and turned off the T.V. already losing interest in it.

Prof. Sycamore chuckled, "Serena, want to play a song on the piano?" He gestured to the instrument across the room. The brunette bit the bottom of her lips.

"...No thanks. I haven't played that for years, I probably forgot how to play already."

"Please?" He pressed on in a pleading tone. "I'm sure you'll remember when you start playing."

Serena hesitated for a second, but ultimately sighed in compliance to her uncle's request. She didn't know why she bothered, but she just did.

She sat on the bench and touched the keys, a nostalgic sensation flooded her senses and she began to play before she knew it. Her hand traveled gracefully across the keys, pressing one after another. She listened to what she was playing and found it familiar.

Then it hit her.

All this time, and she still remembered how to play this song. _River Flow Within You._

_"Daddy! Listen to this!" A little brunette played the piano, though the melody came out off-key. A man chuckled behind her._

_"That's beautiful Serena," He remarked. "Isn't that right Glaceon?"_

_"Glac!"_

_"Daddy, you play now! I want to listen to that song again!"_

_"Alright, alright." Serena's dad chuckled at the brunette's enthusiasm. Serena noticed a Pichu listening intently by the window and decided to approach it._

_"Hi!"_

_It startled the small electric type a bit but upon seeing the brunette's friendly smile, it decided to let it go this time._

_"Want to dance with me?"_

_"Pi pichu!"_

Serena felt something clogged up in her throat. Why did that memory resurface? She slowly started to stop playing, fearing that if she continued, she'll have to remember even more.

There were applauds even though she suddenly stopped.

The brunette turned around to see a man with red hair and a black suit with a furry collar.

"That was très bon!" The man exclaim with a smile.

"Uh, thanks." Serena muttered, looking at Prof. Sycamore to ask who he was and when did he get there.

"Sorry, I haven't introduce you to Lysandre yet!" The Professor lightly hit his own head. "Lysandre, this is my nièce, Serena, and Serena, this is Lysandre."

"It's nice to meet you." He extended a hand out for Serena to shake. She stared at it for a moment before looking at the man. For some strange reason, Serena didn't take much liking of him. He was giving off an aura of power yet of a cold demeanor. His eyes looked as if they could strip away her shells until it can see her very core. But to be polite to Prof. Sycamore's friend, she shook his hand, giving him a simple 'Hello.'

"Professor, may I speak with you for a minute?"

"Bien sûr!" He said with friendliness, guiding the man to his office. "Serena, feel free to look around the lab!"

The brunette nodded but she doubt that he could see her silent respond. She turned away to explore the Pokemon lab. Serena pressed a button on the elevator that would take her to another floor. She didn't know which floor to go to so she just went with eenie meenie miney moe.

* * *

><p><strong>Translation (Just in case you need them)<strong>

_Accueil - Welcome_

_Non merci - No thank you_

_Fantastique - Fantastic_

_Très bon - Very good_

_Bien sûr - Of course_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**R, R &R~**


	3. Chapter 3 - Clain? Cam? No it's Clam!

Chapter 3

****NOTE: Translations at the bottom****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Serena pressed, in random, the button for first floor...which was the one she entered from. Oh well, might as well visit it again.<p>

"Bonjour bonjour!" greeted a girl with plum color hair and wearing a white uniform with a red ribbon once Serena came out of the elevator.

The brunette stiffened at the sudden greeting; she hadn't expect anyone to be here since it was empty when she first came in.

"Are you Serena? Prof. Sycamore's nièce?" She asked with a exuberant smile, taking Serena's hand in a friendly shake without warning. The brunette nodded in response and questioned on how the girl knew.

"Oh that's easy! He always mention you here and there and there's also a picture of his family in his office, which includes you!"

"Oh…"

"By the way, I'm Sina and that over there is Dexio!" she pointed to a blonde male coming over to them. He, too, was wearing a white uniform but with pants and a blue tie.

"Bonjour!" He greeted with a wave, then extend a hand for handshake.

"It's an honor to finally be able to meet Prof. Sycamore's nièce!"

"T-thanks…" Serena trailed off, taking the handshake but letting him do all the shaking. She had to be polite for the sake of her Uncle. "Do you two work for Prof. Sycamore?"

"Oui!" Dexio replied. "We're his assistants but two years ago, Professor Sycamore entrusted us with a Pokédex. So you could call us Pokémon-voyage vétéran!"

"...That's too long so no thank you." Serena said bluntly.

Sina giggled, "Yes I agree, but Dexio just like these kind of names."

"They make us sound awesome." Dexio said haughtily. The two girls sweatdropped while the blonde just laughed at their expressions.

"Ce est juste une plaisanterie!"

Sina rolled her eyes before directing her attention back to Serena, who didn't quite figure a few of the words that Dexio had said. "How do you like Kalos?"

The brunette shrugged. "Not sure, my mom took me on her trips to other regions for tours and races that we're barely in Kalos. We just got back from another one."

"I see… that's une honte." Sina said thoughtfully. "And how was the last race?"

"Mom won," Serena replied nonchalantly. "...Again."

"Serena, is it true that you denied the request that Prof. Sycamore asked of you and two others?" Dexio asked out of nowhere. "I mean, I find that a little unbelievable."

"Then you should start believing in it." The brunette snapped.

"Why though?" Sina asked.

Serena averted her gaze, she didn't feel like or want to answer the question. Before she could quickly excuse herself from Sina and Dexio and walk back to the elevator, a voice called her name throughout the lobby. It was so loud that Serena cringed from how high pitched it was.

"Ugh…" The brunette muttered, rubbing her temples and wishing that she should've escape the scene faster. She recognized that voice anywhere, even though they only meet for less than a day, she remembered how annoying that cheerful voice can be.

"Serena! Is that you?! What are you doing here?"

"Hey... uh Shane?" Serena guessed with uncertainty. She was never good with names and probably never will.

"No, it's Shauna," Her cheerful tone faltered ever so slightly, but it only rose back up in a matter of seconds. "But ça va! We haven't seen each other for a whole year anyways!" **  
><strong>

_You're forgetting the part that we only known each other for less than half a day._ Serena mentally rolled her eyes.

"Nice to see you again Shauna!" Sina greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hiya Sina! Dexio!" The ecstatic girl hugged the two in greeting.

"Shauna!" came two voices outside the door. It lid open and in came two boys, one ginger head and the other with a Torchic head.

_Great...the more the merrier_. Serena thought caustically.

"Why did you run off without us?!" cried the smaller of the two, which was the ginger. He didn't look like he was in any shape to be running, but so was the rather large boy next to him. Both of them were panting hard, as if they ran a tri-athlon, when they caught up to Shauna.

"Ahahaha…" The girl replied sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Désolé, I got excited." She then tugged at Serena's arm, bringing her forward like she was something for show and tell.

"But look! This is Serena!"

"Serena?" The larger of the boys repeated with confusion, but then it clicked in his mind. "Oh! You're the one who declined the offer of a Pokemon!"

Serena deadpanned at him. They remembered her like that? She would've preferred if they didn't remember her at all, she didn't know them anyways.

"It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Tierno and this is Trevor!" He jabbed a thumb at the ginger head next to him.

Yay...more names for Serena to remember - if she bothered to that is. Her plan: go home and never see them again.

"N-nice to meet you." Trevor greeted meekly, seemingly shy of meeting new people. The brunette only nodded to the introductions, inwardly wishing that this was over already.

"What are you doing here Serena?" Shauna inquired suddenly. Before the brunette could respond, she was interrupted by the entry of more people. She was content that she didn't have to answer but vexed at more people coming in while she's still there. What is this going to turn into? A party?

"Sorry we're late!" the door slide open for a raven hair boy, of who jogged in. He was followed by a blonde wearing a tie-neck gray blouse with a pleated plaid red and white skirt. She had her hair styled in two long twin tails and a white cap with a red and white plaid bow to the accenting the side; a ribbon pink purse sling on her shoulder.

The male stopped abruptly upon seeing Serena, who looked as placid as ever.

"It's fine! We only just got here as well!" Shauna assured. "And look at who we found!"

"Um...Serena, was it?" Calem asked uncertainly but was pretty sure that was the brunette's name.

"Hey... Errm... Clain?"

The boy raised an inquisitive brow.

"No...is it Cam?"

"..." Strike one.

"Wait no, Palm?"

"..." Strike two.

"No, it's definitely Clam!" Strike three and you're out!

Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna couldn't hold back their snicker anymore and laughed out loud at the last guess.

"Forget it." Serena sighed in defeat, waving the entire ordeal off just like that.

"It's Calem." The raven haired male finally corrected.

"Oh." Serena said lamely and clamped up after. How was it that all of them could remember her name while she tried so hard to recollect what they go by? Why did she even bothered with this to begin with?

"...Either you are just teasing or you have trouble remembering other people's name." Calem remarked.

"You don't need to know," Serea replied brusquely. "Besides, we only know each other for what? Less than half a day?"

"Touché," Calem nodded. "But at least you remember that."

The brunette deadpanned at the boy. What he said was true…

The blonde walked up to the brunette, extending a hand to shake with her. "Hi! My name's Yvonne!"

Serena tilted her head at the friendly greeting; debating herself whether to take it or not. How many times does she have to do this today anyways?

"Are you...the fifth Pokedex Holder of Kalos?" Serena asked, mentally facepalming for that was the first thing she said and she didn't even shake her hand.

Yvonne smiled proudly, completely forgetting about the handshake. "Oui!"

"What are you doing at Prof. Sycamore's lab?" Calem inquired, and then smirk. "Don't tell me you regretted declining his offer after all this time and came to ask him if you could get a Pokemon."

Serena scoffed and fold her arms, giving him a glare while she was at it. "Nope, I'm still firm in my words." She was glad that her uncle kept his word about not revealing her connection with him.

Hearing this made Calem frowned, but before he could state what he had on his mind, the elevator opened up, revealing Lysandre.

"Oh?" He said, after seeing the group that had gathered in the room. "If it isn't the children chosen by Prof. Sycamore. And the Champion's here too."

Yvonne visibly gasped. "Y-you're Lysandre! The one who designed the Holo Caster!"

He gave her a meaningless smile. "Yes. Tell me, how is the product?"

"It's absolutely fantastic!' Shauna piped.

"It's quite useful with its vast functions." Trevor commented.

"It's okay, I guess." Calem replied nonchalantly, putting his hands in his pant pockets. He rarely uses the thing so he wouldn't know.

"Never used it," Serena deadpanned. "And never cared to."

"What?!" All of the teens exclaimed in astonishment, other than Calem who coughed, hiding a snicker in it.

"How could you not use something as useful as the Holo Caster?!" Yvonne exclaimed.

"...'Cause I never do?" The brunette replied cynically.

"Now now," Lysandre interrupted. "It doesn't suite everyone's taste but I'm glad to hear that it's mostly a success. As they say, Knowledge is power, so you should put your Holo Caster into good use. It is vital that this world become a better place. The people and Pokémon chosen to make the world better must work tirelessly to achieve this goal."

"..." They didn't know how to respond to that...unique speech.

"Well, I'll be off. Please give Professor Sycamore my best. My desire…it is for a more beautiful world!" With that, he ambled out of the building, leaving several baffled faces behind him.

The phone rang at the reception desk, breaking the silence. Sina went over to answer it.

"Bonjour Professor!...mhm...yep, they're here!...Alright, I'll tell them." And she hung up just like that.

"Guys!" Sina called over to the group. "Prof. Sycamore want to speak with you now."

"Thanks Sina!" Tierno said, walking over to the elevator to press the up arrow. They all got onto the elevator, excluding Serena. She was _not_ going to go into that tiny box with them.

"Serena? Aren't you coming?" Shauna asked when she saw that the brunette hadn't made any movement.

The said girl shook her head as an answer.

The smaller girl huffed and dragged her with them anyways. "Well, you're coming whether you like it or not! Maybe we can even ask the Professor if he'll let you have a Pokemon!"

Serena furrowed her brows at her. "I'm sorry what?"

"Prof. Sycamore always agreed to whatever favors Calem asked of him!"

"...How did I get into that?" Calem queried though with slight interest.

"Because you're the best out of all of us and since you're the one that actually provided something for his research!" She chirped. "So you're going to ask in Serena's stead!"

"...I don't think that's a good idea." Serena muttered. Calem stared at Shauna and Serena for a minute before shrugging off.

"Sure, why not."

The brunette mentally stabbed him for that agreement.

After a bit more waiting, they arrived to the floor where Prof. Sycamore reside in. Serena learned one thing during this short duration.

...Six people in that cramped box was unbearable.

Calem knocked on the door and waited for a response, but he didn't get any. He knocked again but still nothing. All of them were confused as to what Prof. Sycamore was doing. Serena rolled her eyes and walked forward to open the door. Before any one of them could scold Serena that she shouldn't trudge into someone's room without permission, she was already inside.

Serena turned to give them a look that said, 'Well?' when they didn't enter.

The gang exchanged looks before following Serena's lead; they found the Professor absorbed in his work. The brunette practically facepalmed but stayed behind the group when they approached him.

"Prof. Sycamore?" Yvonne spoke, trying to get his attention.

"Hm? Oh, what?" He said, distracted, until he saw the teens. "Oh! Hello! I didn't notice that you guys came in!"

"Professor," Yvonne huffed. "We could have still been standing outside since you didn't even answer the knock!"

"Ah…" Prof. Sycamore scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Désolé!"

"Whose suitcase is that?" Shauna pointed to the red suitcase next to his desk.

"Really Shauna?" Trevor sighed in exasperation. "That's the first thing you say in front of the Professor?"

"Oops sorry!"

Prof. Sycamore chuckled, "No no, it's quite alright. And as for the suitcase -"

"It's mine." Serena interjected. The group look back at the brunette who now walked forward to grab the item.

"Why did you bring that here?" Calem gave her an inquisitive look. "Are you going to live here and become Prof. Sycamore's assistant like Sina and Dexio?"

"Ha ha," She said sardonically, folding her arms. "I highly doubt that."

"Then why did you have it here?" Tierno asked. Serena wre a irked expression for all the questions directed at her and then got a tapped on the shoulder by her Uncle. He gave her a look and she knew what that expression of his meant. Even though she rather still hide that fact, she knew that the true will come out sooner or later.

"Sure, why not. They'll know sooner or later anyways." Serena rolled her eyes again, unlatching her hand from the suitcase. All of them had a perplexed look on their faces. Serena decided to look around Prof. Sycamore's work area, suddenly finding interest in them.

"You see, Serena here just got back from another out-of-the-region trip with her mom, Grace." Her uncle explained. "In fact, she just arrived back today."

The group formed an 'o' with their mouth, but it still didn't explain why Serena came here with it. Why did she come to the lab and entered Prof. Sycamore's office as if she was in her own house?

"Wait, Grace?" Calem said, realizing something. "You mean the famous Rhyhorn Racer?"

"Bingo!" Prof. Sycamore clapped and pointed. The boy's mouth opened ever-so-slightly at the discovery. He had been a fan of Pokemon Sports such as this and he seen Rhyhorn Racing on T.V., it looked pretty amazing. He couldn't believe that Serena's related to such a celebrity.

"As I was saying, " The Professor said, getting back on track. "Even though Serena technically lived in Kalos for a little over a year, she rarely stepped foot in her house, let alone knowing much about what the Kalos region offers."

"Seriously?!" Shauna and Yvonne exclaimed. It was obvious to everyone that they were thinking about the current popular trends in Kalos, such as fashion and cafes, and was surprise that Serena didn't have any knowledge of it after a whole year.

"And because of that," The Professor continued, ignoring that mild interruption. "Would you guy make a detour in whatever you're doing and show my nièce around Lumiose?"

"Of course -" Shauna stopped and everyone looked at Prof. Sycamore blankly. They blinked once, twice, three times before reacting to that _tiny_ bit of news.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_Oui - yes/yep_

_Ce est juste une plaisanterie! - I'm just kidding!_

_une honte - a shame_

_ça va! - it's okay!_

_Désolé - sorry********  
><strong>******_

**Until next time,**

**Read, Review & Relax~**


	4. Chapter 4 - Tour of Lumiose

Chapter 4

_**Reviews:**_

_**RosesOfTruth - Shhh, don't give it away! And I didn't think it was that obvious...**_

_**Cottonmouth25 - I'm glad that you find this interesting. Oho, and I thought that Serena wasn't dark enough...yet XD But we'll see how the story will come along.**_

**Thanks for reviewing~! Now onto the chapter! Again, translations are on the bottom of the page.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

* * *

><p>Serena looked to the corner of her eyes to see their jaws dropped wide open. Funny reaction, but it wasn't funny enough to make the brunette smile, let alone laugh.<p>

"S-Serena…?" Tierno started.

"Y-you're…" Trevor continued.

"Pro. Sycamore's NIECE?!" Shauna exclaimed. The brunette remained silent, feeling that she didn't need to answer that when that was given already. Besides, her attention was captured by a framed photo.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" Shauna continued to scream everyone's ears off.

Serena sighed in exasperation, placing the photo lying flat so that no one would be able to see it. No one noticed that little movement except for Calem and her uncle.

"I deemed it unnecessary." She replied blatantly. "And would you please lower your volume? My ears hurt."

"Oh, désolé!" Shauna apologizes, lowering her voice by an octave.

"Uncle," Serena said in her monotone tone. "You don't have to do that, I don't need a tour of the city. I probably won't be visiting again anytime soon."

Her Uncle furrowed his brows and gave her a meaningful smile. "It would break away from your normal routine, non?"

Before Serena can argue, Shauna jumped right in to interject her. "We would love to show Serena around Lumiose!" She then looked at her friends with puppy dog eyes. "Right guys?"

"Bien sûr!" Yvonne replied happily.

"I guess…" Trevor muttered.

"That would be fun!" Tierno gave her a thumbs up.

Calem shrugged. "I got time."

"Yay~!" Shauna clapped, jumping up and down like a child getting what she wanted. "Let's go Serena!" She gripped onto Serena's hand and dragged her away, with everyone else following behind.

Everyone except Calem, who walked over to the picture and set it back up, raising a brow at what he saw. It was a family photo of Prof. Sycamore, Grace, a man he never seen before, a few Pokémon, and - what caught his eyes out of all of this - a little brunette that he could only assume to be Serena. But that cheerful smile of hers didn't match up with the current Serena. She looked rather cute smiling like that.

"Hm…"

"Caly! C'mon!" shouted Yvonne. Calem turned around to walk over to them with a sigh.

"Yvonne, I told you to stop calling me that already."

"But it's just so cute!"

"To you, maybe, but not to me."

"Oh stop it you two!" Shauna said slyly. "You can have your love quarrel some other time! We need to show Serena around!"

Yvonne blushed while the raven hair boy gave the smaller girl a disapproving look.

"We're not -"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Shauna exclaimed, cutting the boy off. "Would you mind asking Prof. Sycamore about Serena's Pokémon before we go?"

"What?" The brunette gave her an incredulous look.

Calem shrugged and walked back into the office.

"Wait, stop!" Serena yanked out of Shauna's grip and chased after the raven hair boy.

"Professor?" Calem asked when entering his office again.

"Oui?"

"Would it be alright if Serena could get a Pokémon from you?"

"Clam!" Serena hissed, barging into the room, aggravation visible on her face. "You don't need to stick your nose into other people's business!"

"And what if I want to?" Calem retaliated, his idle tone never fade from his voice. The brunette narrowed her eyes at the raven haired boy.

"Buzz off." She seethed.

"Now now," Her uncle said, trying to ease the girl of her anger. "I appreciate your concern for my niece. I am a bit surprise at how she manage to befriend a nice boy like you." he secretly winked at the brunette.

Serena's eye twitched. Of course. She knew her uncle would say something like that. At least her mom wasn't here, or it'll be even worse.

"But that isn't necessary," Prof. Sycamore continued. Calem gave him a curious look.

"I'm sure Serena will decide when she'll be ready."

He gave Serena a knowing look, in which she returned with an eye roll.

"Now, you two should get going!" He shooed the duo out. "Look after Serena for me okay? Au revoir!"

"..."

"..."

They silently walked back to the group, to whom Calem told them what Prof. Sycamore said. With a few disappointed sighs, they enter the elevator and then left the building.

The group headed out into the busy streets of South Serena saw how busy it was, her eye twitched again. How she hate crowded places like this; people walking back and forth, whining, talking, laughing, carrying shopping bags, talking on their phones, chatting with others.

They were going into her head all at once. Even though it's pretty nice out, not too warm, not too cold, a few white clouds floating leisurely in the sky, a slightly breeze batting the leaves in the trees, the constant talking of people was getting to her.

To think she should be used to this kind of environment since was always sitting in a stadium, watching her mom race, but she wasn't. She was always annoyed by how long those things could get.

"Let's go to the PR Video Studio first!" Shauna cheered while fistpumping the air.

"The what…?" Serena asked in confusion.

"Vous verrez~!" Shauna pulled the brunette into a building where they take pictures. It's kind of like one of those fashion model shooting studios. The group, excluding Serena, made a video with their Pokémon and when they asked Serena to join them, the brunette refused.

"At least take a photo!" Shauna urged, quickly getting behind Serena and pushing her towards the photo shoot. Serena was pushed in front of a camera with her wearing a blank expression.

"Say cheese~!"

"Don't forget to smile." Calem taunted. A vein popped on Serena's head as the employees took her picture, showing her with a very awkward face.

Serena dislike cameras. PERIOD.

The boys laughed as they saw her picture while Shauna and Yvonne complimented.

"Shut up." Serena hissed with her eyes flashing dangerously.

The group then headed up Vernal Avenue to the Friseur Furfrou to see Furfrou groomers styling Furfrou and Shauna and Yvonne get to style their Poodle Pokémon in the process.

"Hey look Shauna!" Tierno pointed up at a T.V screen hanging outside of the Pokémon Center when they walked past. "They're showing the PV video that you made yesterday!"

"Really?!" The ecstatic girl exclaimed, looking up to where Tierno was pointing. The screen was showing Shauna playing with one of her Pokémon, which was the Furfrou that she was grooming earlier.

"Now that's the PV of a Pokemon Performer!" Yvonne complimented.

"...P...V...?" Serena tilted her head in question. She had never heard of the acronym before in her life.

Everyone, minus Calem, gave the brunette an incredulous look. "You never heard of them?!"

"Urk..." Serena edged back a little while sweatdropping. She didn't see why they would get worked over something like this. "No...?"

"PV stands for PokeVision," Shauna explained. "It's a short promotional video that showcase Pokémon and Pokémon Trainer for the world to see! It's really fun since you get make it yourself!"

"...So...it's basically something that people do when they want to embarrass others?" Serena deducted, training her eyes up at the screen. Calem snickered while the others wore looks of confusion.

"Eh?" Shauna blinked several times and stared blankly at Serena. The brunette, to explain what she had just said, pointed up at the screen as it was sowing another video. It showed a blonde male in a blue jumpsuit and his Heliolisk. Both were creating blunders and at some point, the boy made a machine and it exploded in their faces.

"Oh..." They said together and sweatdropped. "That's..."

"BONNIE!" came a shout within the Pokemon Center. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE FILMING US!"

"C'mon! I was only trying to help you get a girlfriend!" returned a child's protest.

"Uh..." Trevor said awkwardly. "Let's leave."

The group agreed at once, heading to their next destination.

After taking the Gogoat Shuttle, the group got off at North Boulevard, in front of Lumiose Museum. They enter to take a look at a few paintings. Serena wasn't really interested in any of them until she came across a painting from Kanto.

It showed three Bellossom dancing in a colorful flower field, two Butterfree flying over head, and a forest in the back ground. It really captured the peacefulness of the area.

_Peaceful..._Serena bit the bottom of her lips.

_"Wow! Look at all the Butterfree!" A little brunette exclaimed, looking overhead to see a large group of migrating Butterfly Pokémon. "What are they doing?"_

_"That's what we call migrating." A man explained, kneeling down to the girl's perspective._

_"Migrating?"_

_The man pointed up in the direction where the Butterfly Pokémon were flying to. "Do you see where they're flying? They're going to a warmer place since winter is coming. It's like how we go home at night for a warm place to sleep."_

_"Really?" The girl looked up at her dad. "But how do they know where to look?"_

_"Instincts." was his reply. "It's something everyone's born with and they die hard no matter how long they haven't been in used."_

Serena shook her head of that memory and took one last glance at the painting before walking away.

The group visited Boutique Couture for a little clothes shopping. Not Serena but Shauna and Yvonne.

Actually...it was an all out shopping spree. The two girls practically zoomed around the store, trying out and buying different outfits. The guys didn't take interest since this floor is for women; second floor is for men but they didn't feel like shopping.

"..." Serena watched as a blur of pink run past her, which was Shanua.

"They really are heavy shoppers…" Tierno remarked while sweatdropping. "Especially Yvonne, right Calem?"

"Hm?" The raven haired boy has been leaning against the wall, staring off into space while Serena walked around and Tierno and Trevor sat on chairs with accumulating shopping bags.

"We were talking about how Yvonne is a crazy shopper."

"...Mention that again and I'll personally shut you for good." Calem said darkly. They sweatdroped, then Tierno and Trevor laughed nervously, forgetting the horrible experience that he had went through when Yvonne forced him into being her shopping partner. But they were glad that it was him instead of them.

"What…?" Serena spoke up, not exactly understanding the situation here.

"Calem just didn't want to be reminded of how Yvonne had tortured him by bringing him shopping." Trevor explained.

"Oh." Serena replied flatly, then stopped looking through endless clothes and sat down in an available chair. "...I'm bored."

"I thought you would be the type of girl that likes shopping too," Calem remarked. So he was listening? Serena thought that he went back to zoning out.

The brunette ignored the comment though, finding it useless to reply.

"Caly!" Yvonne said, rushing over with two sets of clothes. "Which combinations do you think suits me more?"

"Beats me," Calem shrugged.

"C'mon Caly!" The blonde pouted. "Help me out here!"

"If you can't decide, then take both," Calem stated. "And don't call me Caly."

"But - But," The blonde then turned to Serena, causing her to feel uneasy. "What do you think Serena? Which looks better?"

She held up several pieces of clothes, forcing all of them on the brunette. Serena took this with mild surprise and pushed the clothes away gently. "I - I guess...try the pink, short parka and white shirt with the light blue denim shorts?"

Yvonne appraised the set that Serena chose, followed by a wide smile. "Great choice! Merci Serena!" The blonde then went off somewhere to put away the other set. Calem raised an eyebrow at the brunette; for someone that didn't like shopping, Serena knows her fashion.

"Serena~!"

"What?" was the brunette's immediate answer but it was more vexed than she intended it to be. Before she knew it, Shauna flung the brunette some clothes and shoved her into a dressing room.

"You're not coming out until you changed!"

In Serena's hands, she have a blue ruffled camisole top, blue scarf, and navy blue jeans. She just stared at the clothes inside the changing room.

_What did I just get myself into?_

* * *

><p>"Are you done?" call the ecstatic girl. Calem stopped talking to Yvonne about what she should choose again and why she shouldn't be calling him nicknames to see what was going on. He hadn't notice that Serena was gone until Shauna piped up.<p>

"I'm not coming out." Serena replied stubbornly. Calem raise a brow. This was going to be interesting.

"Aw please!" Shauna pleaded but got a no for an answer. She sighed and decided to go into the changing room herself.

"Oh my Arceus! You look so coquet, just like a model!"

"You can't just come in here without permission!" Serena hissed.

"Let's show everyone!"

"No!"

From the curtains, Calem and the others could see Shauna's pigtails popping out of the changing room. She soon showed herself but looked like she was having trouble pulling Serena out. For Shauna to have to struggle, what does Serena have to hold inside to cause so much trouble?

Now everyone was curious to what Serena look like, especially after Shauna mention the 'model' part.

"C'mon! You shouldn't be a shy Beautifly! It's really cute on you!" Shauna complimented but failed to persuade her out.

"I should have never agreed to this!" Serena griped from inside.

"Need any help?" Calem offered.

"Yes!/NO!" Both Shauna and Serena replied together. He chuckled lightly before helping Shauna. Calem turned towards the others who had been silent through the whole thing, not knowing what to say or think.

"Better back up." The three nodded and immediately took cautious steps back. Calem tugged on Shauna who was tugging on Serena's hand.

"Why are you guys even making me do this?!" Serena complained. She must really not want them to see what she's wearing. It was really hard even with two people and Calem thought they were attracting attention too.

"Don't be so stubborn!" Shauna grunted and with a finally pull and Serena popped right out...somehow flying straight at Calem; the male groan upon impact with the floor.

"What the hell?!" Serena exclaimed.

"At least you have a cushion while I have the floor." Calem winced a bit before opening his eyes just in time to see Serena's glaring straight at him. Now that's pure hatred, except for the tint of pink on her cheeks.

"What? The faster you get out, the faster we're on our way out of here." The boy reason causally. The brunette clenched her teeth and got off quickly to stand up.

"Happy now?" She growled acrimoniously, wearing a blush on her face and folding her arms. Everyone got a clear view of Serena's appearance.

"Didn't I tell you she look like a model?" Shauna squealed.

_Well...the clothes do fit her, if it wasn't for that grouchy face of hers, then she would've looked pretty cute… _Calem thought. He couldn't believe he just complimented a girl's appearance without being halfhearted, even if it was just mentally.

The raven haired boy manage to keep a straight face while Tierno and Trevor had their breath taken away. Serena indeed have a body fit for a model.

"You look stupéfiant!" Yvonne said with a clap of her hands.

"I'm changing back." Serena stated, perturbed.

"Do you want to buy them?" Shauna asked. There was a definite and clear 'No' from Serena.

"Serena?"

The brunette froze. She did not hear what she just heard; at least she hoped that she was hallucinating the voice.

"Are you shopping with your friends?"

Nope. She did not imagine it. It was her mom right behind her. Serena turned around with a look of irritation. "Non. I got forced into this when all Uncle said was for them to show me around."

"But you look beautiful in that!"

Serena turned stone-faced at the remark before walking back into the dressing room. "I hope not."

"Oh! You kids are the ones from before!" Grace said. "It must be fate for you guys to meet my daughter again!"

"_Mom_." The brunette said in a warning tone after coming back out. Serena had heard what she said and she hoped that her mom didn't get the wrong impression that she was friends with them. They're just acquaintances...maybe less. "We don't have time for chitchat; we still have much to see in Lumiose so see ya!"

With that, she shoved everyone out hurriedly, leaving a clueless Grace behind.

"Now that's something." Calem remarked when they were out, but was glad that that Serena had gotten them out of a shopping spree.

"Shut. Up. Clam." Serena accentuated each word.

"Not my name." The boy remarked nonchalantly.

"Who cares Camel," Serena snapped. "And is there anywhere else to see or are we done?"

"Oh! Oh!" Yvonne perked up, looking through her Holo Caster of the places to visit. "There's this café famous for its desserts. Its call Bonbons café de Swirlix, and it's introducing a new menu! Let's go there!"

They all agreed since they needed something to eat. But when they got there, there was an extremely long line.

"..." Shauna and Yvonne looked in horror at how many people were crowding around the place. There was no way that they could get in there before the day ends.

"Hey, isn't that Calem?" pointed a random person who recognized the raven hair boy.

"Uh oh." The group muttered.

"En aucune façon! The Kalos Champion? Here?!" squealed a girl.

"He's so dreamy!" Okay, that one irked Yvonne and she wanted to track down whoever girl that said it.

"Let's get out of here!" Calem exclaimed. He was the first one to run and he was followed by the rest. Serena didn't have a choice but to run. It was either that or to be run over by a huge crowd.

...

"That...Was...A...Workout." Trevor gasped out between breaths as they lost the crowd. Tierno agreed with a chuckled. Shauna straighten up and looked frantically around.

"Guys..." She said slowly. "Where's Calem, Yvonne, and Serena?"

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations(If they're right):<strong>

_Bien sûr - Of course_

_Au revoir - Good bye_

_Vous verrez - You'll see_

_Merci - Thanks_

_Coquet - pretty_

_Stupéfiant - amazing_

_Bonbons café de Swirlix - Swirlix's Sweets cafe_

_En aucune façon! - No way!_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time, have fun reading!**

**~Lily**


	5. Chapter 5 - Saviors

Chapter 5

**Reviews:**

_**Flowerlet - You could say there's going to be something like that.**_

_**Cottonmouth25 - Lol, that made up phrase's catching on. XD**_

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>With Calem<p>

The raven haired champion ran as fast as his legs could carry him, only to lose the crowd by climbing up a tree and hid in the leaves. His blue eyes trailed at the crowd that searched around and slowly disperse in different directions while he took in deep breaths.

"What's wrong with these people?" He found himself muttering. He had told Shauna that it was a bad idea to group up in Lumiose but no, she just wouldn't listen. Just look at what they got themselves now? Separated and, in Serena's case, lost - if she was to be by herself. The boy doubt that the brunette knows the way back to the lab or probably ended up in a part of the city that they haven't went to yet.

Lumiose City is the largest city in Kalos after all.

And what's even worse was that they don't have any way of contacting her since they didn't have Serena's Holo Caster number... if she even have one. How exactly are they going to search the whole city for one girl? It's like finding a needle in a haystack.

Calem sat down on the tree branch and took off his hat so that he could run his fingers through his hair. He was frustrated about this situation but then he found this somewhat amusing. He hadn't had this much fun in a day's time.

The raven haired boy hopped off of the tree just when his Holo Caster rang for his attention. He fished it out and pressed the _ANSWER _button on it, causing a holographic picture to materialize in front of him.

"Bonjour?" Calem answered.

"Cal!" Shauna answered on the other line. Cal was a nickname that his friends have given the boy. Calem didn't mind, it was at least better than being called 'Caly.' Why Yvonne keeps calling him that when he clearly stated that he didn't like it, only her and Arceus knows.

Standing on both sides of Shauna were Trevor and Tierno, all three of them looked rather worried about something. "Are Nène and Serena with you?"

"No..." Calem frowned, his suspicion about Serena getting lost seemingly more of a reality now. "They're not with you?"

Shauna quickly shook her head in reply, looking about frantic right about now. "Do you think they're lost? I know Nène will be just find but what about Serena?"

Calem's thought exactly.

The boy thought for a moment before answering. "Have you tried calling Yvonne to see if Serena is with her?"

"Non, you're the first person that I called after finding out that we got separated..." The girl replied in distress but then lit up immediately in hope. "I'll call her right now!"

The raven haired champion nodded, "Call me back if they are together or not. And let's all meet up at somewhere that attracts less attention so that we don't have to wonder around while looking for each other."

"Grande idée!" Shauna exclaimed. "Any suggestions?" That question was aimed at everyone as the girl looked from Trevor to Tierno, and then to Calem. There was a moment of silence where they all thought about a good place to meet.

"I know this café that I gone to before." Calem replied. "Café Clair De Lune, the place isn't that crowded because the spot is a little difficult to find."

"I'll look it up." Trevor suggested. All four of them agreed on the place to meet and the call was terminated. Calem sighed and put the communication device back into his bag.

"This has turned out to be an interesting day so far."

* * *

><p>With Yvonne<p>

The blonde just kept on running until she was just tired out. Why didn't she just flew into the safety of the sky instead of running the streets of Lumiose?

When Yvonne finally stopped to catch a breather, she crouched slightly to hold her knees and then look over her shoulder to see that she was now among a sea of calmness. She didn't know how long ago that she lost the crowd, she was just glad she didn't need to run any longer.

"Hey gu -" Her words were cut short when she turned round, finding no one to address it with.

Yvonne stood up straight before looking around the many heads in the streets of South Boulvard but she didn't recognize any one of them.

"Huh... How did I lose them?" The blonde muttered to herself. "I was pretty sure I was with them when we ran..."

The ringing of her Holo Caster brought her back from mulling over the question. She rummaged through her bag to find and answer the device. A holo graphic picture of Shauna materialized in front f her.

"Hey Shawn -"

"Nène, is Serena with you?!" The girl queried frantically, causing Yvonne to just stare at her blankly.

"Um..." The blonde glanced around to double check that she was alone before answering with the shake of her head. Before Yvonne could ask any other questions, Shauna started to freak and rant on about how Serena's lost in Lumiose City.

"Wait..." Yvonne said slowly when things finally started to click. "Serena's not with you?"

"No!" Shauna exclaimed. "I just called Cal and he said that Serena wasn't with her either!"

"We need to look for her." Tierno advised right beside Shauna. The blonde nodded, saying that she will look for Serena. The trio at Shauna's end informed Yvonne of the location they were to meet once they found Serena, but the girl haven't heard of that place before. She just hoped that she doesn't get lost finding her way there.

"We'll call each other if any one of us found her, okay?" Shauna stated. Yvonne nodded and they ended their call.

The blonde let out a frustrated sigh and then looked into the window of the store that she stopped in front of. "Why do things have to keep getting more complicated?"

Yvonne started to walk around, looking in every direction, and asking random people walking by if they seen a girl with honey brown hair and steel gray eyes. Her description weren't that strong, which led her to random places with no luck of the brunette anywhere.

At some point, Yvonne was led to the park, which have inviting trees to take shelter from the blistering sun. The blonde gladly took shade for a moment to rub her aching feet. She only now realized that she had been walking/running for a few hours without any rest - unless standing still counted as resting.

"Where could she be?" Yvonne found herself muttering while taking out her Holo Caster. The others haven't called her yet so she knew that Serena was still aimlessly -probably - wondering around who-knows-where in Lumiose.

"Where could who be?" inquired an intrigued voice over Yvonne's head.

"Huh?" The blonde tilt her head up from the Holo Caster in her lap to immediately have an upside face placed right in front of hers. They were only mere inches away from each other and emerald green eyes met with crystal blue ones, with the former looking blankly. It wasn't long before the blonde had the daylight scared out of her. She screamed to the top of her lungs and trying to get up, only to slam both heads together.

"OW!" The one dangling upside down yelped upon the head collision. He then lost his grip on the branch that his leg was hooked and fell with his head planted flat onto the ground with a loud thud.

That seemed to have stopped Yvonne from yelling but she stay still in her spot as she peer at the twitching legs of a crooked upside down platinum blonde male.

"W-who are you?!" Yvonne pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "A-and why w-were you dangling from a tree?!"

"Wow... Not even an apology for knocking me down?" The boy groaned while sitting up with one hand supported against the ground behind him and grimaced when he rubbed the bump throbbing on his head.

"What?!" Yvonne exclaimed. "It's your fault for scaring me like that!"

"Me? Scary?" The platinum blonde raised an eyebrow. "I'm not that hideous am I?"

It was only now that Yvonne examined what he was wearing. A black and white striped shirt under a blue, short sleeve, button up shirt; black pants and brown combat boots. He didn't look that bad now that the girl got a good look of him.

The boy smirked when he noticed Yvonne staring at him. "Checking me out now eh?"

The girl felt heat rising to her cheeks and shook her head to clear her mind. "N-no! W-What do you want anyways?"

Yvonne looked as the boy gave her a shrug. "You looked stressed so I thought that I could offer you my help."

"Who in their right mind offers help while dangling from a tree?" The blonde girl inquired in disbelief. The boy only smiled playfully.

"I was just going to climb down from the tree with a cute girl suddenly appear and sat right beneath it." He replied with a flirtatious smirk. Yvonne blushed when he called her that but quickly waved it away.

"...Why were you in a tree in the first place?"

"First time here, so I needed to go to a higher place to find where to go," The boy replied with another shrug. "But enough about me, weren't you looking for someone?"

Yvonne took a moment to be able to reply. "Um... I'm looking for a friend. It's her first time to Lumiose as well and my friends and I were showing her around when we got separated. We can't get in contact with her either since we don't have her number."

The blonde male whistled, "Tough break. Wanna tell me what your friend look like? You know, in case I came across her earlier?"

"Well..." Yvonne tapped a finger to her chin, looking thoughtful. "She have honey brown hair and steel gray eyes..."

The male quirked a brow and folded his arms. "...Really? That doesn't give me much to base on. There's plenty of girls that could match that description."

Yvonne glared at the boy, "I'm not done yet."

"Okay," The boy raised his hands in mock defeat. "It was just that you stopped, so I thought that that was all you were going to give me."

"I'm just trying to remember what she was wearing," The girl snapped back. After a few minutes of utter silence, the blonde male yawned and lean his side against the ground, with one arm propped and holding up his head.

"Tell me when you're done trying to remember what this _friend _look like. I'm going to take a nap."

"Hey!" Yvonne jerked her head at the boy who now have his eyes closed. "I only just met her today!" She defended.

The boy pried open one eye, "Really now? You only met this person today and you already consider her a friend? You're very optimistic about life."

This made Yvonne boiled up rather quickly, finding the boy rather irritating. First he offered to help her, now he was just insulting about her personality? Just who does he think he is?

"You don't have to say something like that! If you don't want to help then find by me!"

"Relax," The boy sighed and sat straight up again. "It's a good thing to be optimistic but I'm just trying to tell you to not be so trustful of people you meet."

"Like you?"

"Ye - uh..." The blonde male sweatdropped and rub the back of his neck. "Point taken. Anyways... what does your friend look like?"

"Oh, well, she was wearing a red jacket and blue jeans. She have a red felt ha t on with white framed sunglasses on them."

The boy hummed to himself. "I think I saw someone like that an hour ago... but she didn't look like she was lost, she looked like she was irritated by something."

"That sounds like her!' Yvonne piped. "Where did you last saw her?"

"Somewhere in Autumnal Avenue."

A cheerful spark lit in Yvonne's eyes, "Merci beaucoup!" She then raced off in the direction of the Avenue; however, before she got any farther, she turned around.

"By the way, my name's Yvonne!"

The blonde gave her a knowing smile before raising a hand up in a motionless wave. "Xavier."

* * *

><p>With Serena<p>

"I'm never coming back here again." Serena muttered while folding her arms and walking around aimlessly. She didn't know where she ended up in, it was unfamiliar. The tour was completely useless to her since she hasn't even been to this part of the city before.

This was what she gets for hanging around that group of people. Just who's bright idea was it to let the Champion of Kalos walk around in the buys streets in broad daylight? It was practically screaming celebrity-here-chase-after-me. If only she just stayed at Prof. Sycamore and waited for her mom to come back so they could go home; if only she hadn't agree to this; if only she had argued back.

If only... If only...

"If only I know where I am..." Serena finally said aloud when she found herself in an alleyway. She scratched her head, faintly remembering passing by this place several times before. It seemed like the brunette was just walking in circles.

This lost feeling...it was familiar to Serena.

_"Guys?" called out a young Serena in the middle of a forest. "Hello? Where did you guys go?"_

_She wandered around, trying to look for her friends but it was looking more hopeless than ever. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't lost but the situation that she was in proved otherwise._

_Serena felt like she was walking around in circles and her legs was starting to hurt. At some point, she just gave up on looking and sat down against the trunk of a tree. Tears circled the corner of her eyes as she curled up into a ball._

_"I don't like camp at all... I want to go home... I want mommy and daddy..." She sobbed._

_"Hey... Are you okay?" came a voice. Serena looked up to see a boy, though the upper half of his face was shadowed for some reason, making him unrecognizable._

_Serena shook her head. "N-no...I-I'm lost...I-I can't find my friends..." The little brunette started to cry again._

_The boy patted her head and smiled warmly, "Don't cry, I'll help you find your friends!"_

_Serena wiped her eyes and stare at the boy. "R-really?"_

_A hand was placed down in front of the girl, a grin etched across the boy's features. "Really. What's your name?"_

_"Serena."_

_"I'm -"_

The memory burst, as if Serena couldn't recall any more of it. The brunette frowned, wondering who it was that helped her. She was so distracted that she didn't notice two guys approaching her, that is, until they spoke.

"Oi girly," one of the tough - looking man - with ripped jean vests and everything - addressed, earning an immediate glare from the brunette. It was clear that she didn't like the name nor did the thugs in front of her have any good intentions.

"What do yeh think you're doing 'ere?" said another one.

Serena remained silent, giving them all an idle gaze.

"We got a silent one eh?" said the first guy, looking the brunette up and down. "She looks a étranger; probably can't understand Kalosian."

The girl scoffed mentally, _Idiots. _Of course she could understand what they were saying though sometimes, she does find some words hard to decipher. Serena just chose not to reply back.

The other man smirked. "A foreign breed? She's pretty cute lookin' too."

Hearing that made Serena want to gag and punch them square in the face, but she withheld the urge since she was outnumbered two to one. However, it set off anyways when one of them tried to grab a hold of her. She wasn't going to let them touch her in any way possible.

"Why you little..." Both of them came at her, with one going behind Serena and twisting her arms behind her back. She tried to struggle but his grip tightened every time she tried to squirm out. She resisted the urge to yelp when her wrist started to hurt.

The other, the one that Serena hit, towered over the brunette and knocked off her felt squeezed Serena's cheeks with his hand, turning her face to and fro as if examining her before taking out a knife. "I'm gonna draw of yer pretty little face for doing that."

Fear crossed Serena's eyes for just a split second before it turned into a cold glare. She knew better than to show fear to her enemies, it would only suffice their thirst.

The brunette edged as far away from the ever - close approaching knife but since she was stuck in place, it didn't give her much distance.

"Greninja, Water Pulse!"

"Wha -" The man didn't get to finish when a water sphere hit and exploded in his face. He screamed in pain and fell down. Serena felt the blood returning to her hands and looked behind her to find Calem twisting the hand of the guy that had been holding onto her in place.

The raven haired boy had a dark, unforgiving look in his eyes. "Lay a finger on her again and it won't be pretty." Calem hissed, twisting harder on the hand. Serena cringed slightly when she thought that she heard a crack. He then launched a kick to the man's back, sending him on his way. The thug carried to fainted one and scurried out of sight.

Calem clapped away the invisible dust away before turning to Serena with a look of relief. "And that's why you should have a Pokémon with you. You're not hurt are you?"

"..." The brunette averted her gaze, clenching her hand so that the trembling would stop. "I'm fine."

The boy noticed the tightened grip and patted her head with an assuring smile. "There's nothing to be scared of anymore."

The touch was familiar but Serena edged away from him without saying anything and picked up her hat. She wasn't scared was she? There was no way. She could have easily handle them if that man hadn't restrained her.

Calem retracted his hand and sighed. "You know, you have Shauna and the others all worried about you?"

Serena bit the bottom of her lip. "... I just want to go back to the lab."

"How about we get something to eat and then head back?" Calem suggested.

"I'm not hungry." Right when the brunette stated that, her stomach betrayed her with a low growl. A faint tint of pink appeared on her cheeks and the girl looked away.

The raven haired champion chuckled. "It sounds like your stomach didn't agree with what you said."

"Shut up." Serena hissed.

"C'mon," The boy grabbed the brunette's wrist without warning. "Let's meet up with the others, get something to eat, and then go back to Prof. Sycamore's lab."

"Let go of me," The brunette seethed "Who said that I'll be going with you anyways?"

Calem smirked, "Then would you like to wander the crowded streets of Lumiose some more?"

Serena couldn't counter that so she remained silent, letting the boy win.

"Great!" The raven haired champion grinned. "We can stop by the Galette Stand on our way and maybe some other places as well!"

"_What?!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_Grande idée - Great idea_

_Merci beaucoup - Thank you so much_

_étranger - foreign_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	6. Chapter 6 - Going Down Hill From Here

Chapter 6

**Reviews:**

_**DMT - Lol, I totally agree! I'll try to add shipping moments when I can.**_

_**Flowerlet - Thanks for the support and I'm glad that you like the characters!**_

_**Cottonmouth25 - Yep, I just thought that it would be fun to add them in :p**_

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Annnddd you probably know that the translations are on the bottom so on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Serena and Calem arrived to the designated cafe with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor already waiting for them since the ebony boy had called them eailer. Shauna tackled a shocked Serena into a hug, wailing about how she thought that she lost the brunette for sure.<p>

_We only just met and she's already too friendly. _Serena thought dryly and tried to convince Shauna to release her grip. When she heard snickering, she shot a glare to Calem, who then coughed and looked away while humming an innocent tune.

"...Shane...let go." Serena muttered in agitation. The ecstatic girl complied with the brunette's demand but not without correcting her name. Serena rolled her eyes mentally, _You could correct me every single time and I will still not get it right._

"Let's go inside and sit down," Trevor suggested. "I think we all need to break from today's nonstop walking and running."

All of them agreed and sat on a table set up outside of the cafe.

"Yvonne's not here yet?" Calem inquired, wondering if the blonde had somehow lost her way. A waiter came to ask for their order one by one, starting with Shauna.

"Pas encore," Tierno replied and faced the waiter after reading the menu. "May I have the douce baies crêpe and swirlix plaisir?"

He nodded and turn turn to Calem.

"Chocolat Framboise Croissant," The boy ordered. "Hm... she might have gotten lost trying to find this place."

"I hope not." Shauna frowned, folding her arms on the table with her chin resting on them.

Serena was the last to chose but she really didn't take interest in any one the food on the list, half of which Serena couldn't understand. She did recognize some things like this one dessert called étincelante gâteau au fromage and that this menu is mostly fairy themed with it being pink and sparkling with pictures of fairy type Pokemon here and there.

"Need any help?" Calem offered after seeing the brunette scrutinizing at the menu.

Serena bit the bottom of her lips; she didn't want them to think that she needed help all the time. Her pride wouldn't allow her to do that, and so, she shook her head.

The brunette just settled for something to drink, she wasn't that hungry anyways.

She skimmed through the beverages to see if something catches her eyes. She told the waiter that she wanted the thé à la camomille clair de lune which was, to her, a very long name.

"... Just tea? Are you sure about that?" Tierno inquired.

"If you're trying to go on a diet," Calem stated. "You look s -"

"I'm not on a diet," Serena interjected while closing her eyes and her hands clutched tightly into fists against her laps of her blue jeans. "I lost my appetite after you stopped by several other places before we came here."

"You only ate one galette," Calem countered. "And that was only when I shoved it into your mouth."

"Quoi?!" Shauna exclaimed, bolting up and leaning on the table.

Serena turned her head away, with tinges of faded pink blotting her cheeks from embarrassment and feeling that she just lost a chunk of her dignity. She still couldn't believe she would let him feed her something to eat albeit in her defense, she let her guard down and it was forcibly put in her mouth.

While Serena was trying to picture herself stabbing Calem a thousand fold, the boy ordered something along with Serena's tea.

"Did you really?" Shauna asked, with eyes that wanted the boy to spill everything.

"Er... Yeah?" Calem replied uncertainly, slightly taken aback by Shauna's sudden question. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Something wrong?" Shauna repeated and then her arms flew up into the air. "YOU NEVER DID THAT BEFORE! WHAT ELSE DID I MISS WHEN I'M NOT THERE?!"

"Shauna..." Trevor sighed, slumping in his seat. "You're attracting attention."

The said girl looked around to see people walking by giving the teens at the table strange looks. "Oops...Sorry!"

Everyone was silent after that, until Shauna spoke up again. "So what else happened with you two?"

Serena rubbed her temple when her head was starting to hurt from all of this gossip. Before Calem could reveal any details of their detour, the brunette stopped him. "Can we not talk about this?"

Shauna mulled over this for a second before nodding, but then another excited glint became visible in her pistachio green eyes "Then how about we give you a nickname Serena?"

The brunette simply raised a brow, "Nickname?"

"Oui! All of us have nicknames, Tierno's Tio, Trevor's Trevs, Calem's Cal, I'm Shawn and Yvonne's Nène so you should have one too! We would feel much closer as friends that way!"

"Oh! I know, how about Sere'O?" Tierno suggested out of nowhere. Serena's face twisted into that disdain, the name sounded like some kind of breakfast food.

"En aucune façon! She looks like a Lil' S!" Shauna argued, the turned to her ginger headed friend. "What do you think Trevs?"

"H-huh?!" Trevor recoiled, disliking the fact that he had just been put on the spot. "Err...h-how about S-kins?" He mentally regretted saying that right after seeing Serena staring him down with an incredulous look. Did those two really think she's a little kid to call her those names?

They went on and on about what kind of nicknames to give to the brunette while the one in question was getting more and more annoyed by the silly names.

"Hngh…" Shauna pouted as they were getting nowhere with this. "How about you decide on it Serena?"

"Just Serena." The girl in question replied coolly as their choice of food arrived, courtesy of the previous waiter. The brunette looked down at the mini berry fruit tart in front of her.

"Eehhh... That's no fun," Shauna whined and propped up an elbow and rest the side of her face on her open palm. "I wish Nène was here, she's great with nicknames."

She suddenly snapped her head to Calem for suggestions. "Any ideas Cal?"

"Hm…" He put a hand to his chin, creating a thinking pose. He looked at Serena, who was now sipping the tea that she just ordered. "How about... Seri?"

Upon hearing that, Serena froze and nearly choked on the liquid in her mouth but she did have to clasp a hand to her mouth just in case while her other hand place the cup down.

"That…" Shauna's eyes gleamed. "Fits her parfaitement!"

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Serena exclaimed all of a suddenly, slamming a hand on the table and bursting out of her seat. She didn't care about the looks that other people were giving her. What she did care about was that they do not address her by that name. Why did she even let them have their way with giving her a nickname in the first place? Maybe it was because she thought that it wouldn't be that bad... maybe she would like to have one. But the suggestion that Calem wasn't what she had in mind.

The others reeled back in astonishment to Serena's sudden outburst and find that it was out of character for her to do that, but then again, they barely know the girl.

Calem was the first one to recover and spoke up."What got you all tied up into a knot?"

Serena had her nails dug into the wooden table as she tries to recover. "N-nothing. Just... just anything but that." Her steel gray orbs were filled with remorse and pain until the brunette held her gaze steady, returning to the stoic look.

"Are you okay Serena?" Shauna inquired in concern. "What's wrong with the name?"

"It's... getting late," Serena started, trying to think up of an excuse to leave so that she doesn't have to explain. "We should head back."

Shauna tried to counter but it was too late. Serena already put some money on the table to pay for her food that she barely touched and was walking away from them with a fast pace, wanting nothing more than to leave.

That name was just something that the brunette wouldn't let anyone call her.

"Wait!" Calem caught up to Serena, stopping her from leaving them by grabbing her shoulder. The brunette spare him a glance before the ground shook with the sound of an explosion.

They looked in the direction of where it came from to see a Talonflame flying overhead, looking as if it was fighting something on the ground. With a screech that could be heard all the way to where Serena and the others were - where was a mile away - it dived down in a fury of electrifying blue flames.

"Isn't that Nène's Talonflame?" Trevor spoke up, squinting his eyes to lock onto the flying type. "...And they're right over Prof. Sycamore's lab!"

Something sunk in her stomach when Serena heard where the commotion was being held. The color in her face drained from her as she think of the possible cause for the tremor. It has to be a Pokemon with a strong move if it was able to shake the ground within a mile radius of where they were.

"Earthquake," Serena muttered, arriving to only that conclusion before sprinting off to the lab. She mentally pray that her mom and uncle is safe out of harm's way.

Calem was one with a sharp hearing. Even among the sea of murmurs and screams, he could hear what Serena mumbled. And he wondered how she was able to reduced down to that choice of moves among many others that would cause the ground to shake. Not many trainers could have been able to come to that conclusion and yet Serena, inexperienced as she is in the field, knows and she isn't even a trainer.

_... Maybe she had been taught by Prof. Sycamore, _Calem contemplated as they follow Serena to the scene of the turmoil. _She is his niece after all._

...

When Serena arrived at the scene while the others struggled to get pass the crowd of people running back and forth, Prof. Sycamore's Lab was half ruins while the other half was badly damaged and crumbling.

People started to gather as to see what was going on. Serena would think they would have enough common sense to stay away when they see danger. But that's pretty hypocritical of the brunette since she came as well. But that wasn't the point.

In the middle of the chaos was Yvonne trying to fight against a Tyranitar with her Talonflame though she looked scratched up herself.

There was a strange collar around the Armor Pokemon's neck that stood out with its blue hue against the Tyranitar's olive green skin.

Serena quickly scan the area to see if she could find - "UNCLE SYCAMORE!" She immediately rushed to the man that has his leg buried under the remains of his lab with Sina and Dexio trying lift the other rocks away from the Professor.

The brunette knelt down to Prof. Sycamore and tried to push away the rocks that was burying his foot.

"Serena, you shouldn't be here," The Professor said weakly. "It's too dangerous!"

The said girl shook her head and continue with her efforts; however, she stopped when she heard a resonating roar. All of the people look up to see a Garchomp standing on top of half of the roof that used to be Prof. Sycamore's lab.

"Isn't that..." Serena scrutinized the Garchomp on the roof.

"It's Prof. Sycamore's Pokemon," Sina elaborated in worry. "We don't know what happened b-but it went out of control!"

"Out of control?" The brunette repeated, looking at the dragon type spreading destruction to the city, wearing a strange blue choker around its neck. For a moment, its gaze seemed to have met hers before its eyes darted to something behind her.

"Serena! Augustine!"

... Scratch that, it was _someone._

The Mach pokemon unlatched its jaws open. It gathered a purplish pink light with its mouth, energy seemingly draining into the bright orb from thin air.

Serena widen her eyes immediately when she recognized it as a Hyper Beam and it was aimed directly to her and her mother. She snapped her head to Grace and started darting towards her while screaming - "MOM! GET AWAY FROM THER-" The attack grazed against Serena's shoulder as she was being pulled down by a sudden force; her hat flying off her head.

The brunette couldn't suppress the urge to yelp in pain as she felt liquid dribbling down her skin. Her vision was strained and wavering as a sear force of pain course though her central nervous system as if she had just been burned by an intense heat.

An explosion followed by the sound of a collapsed building resonated in the air along with the screams of panicking people.

Serena wanted to get up but something that slung over her shoulder prevent that, but it lifted itself away from the girl.

"Aria, Dragon Pulse!"

The sound of a pokeball opening with a plop and the cry of an Altaria caused Serena to look up. Calem was kneeling next to her while commanding Altaria to fight the other two dragon types.

"... Cale?" Serena said weakly before realizing that Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno joined into the fray with their Chesnaught, Charizard, and Blastoise respectively.

The brunette tried to pick her self up but only managed to her up to her knees until her shoulder require her attention. She gripped tightly on it and grimace. Retracting her hands, Serena saw that it was covered with red liquid and the arm of her jacket was turning into a darker shade of red.

When she looked up, Serena froze with the sense that time was slowing to a stop. She blanched, her hands tremble, and her heart constricted tightly in her rib cage.

In her line of sight was a crumbled building where Grace was supposed to be... there was virtually no one in sight except for a few tatter pieces of bloodied clothes. When she looked closer, there was a hole that opened directly to the sewer line of the city.

The scene as too familiar to her.

_"Wake up... Wake up! Oh Arceus will you two please wake up?! This isn't the time for jokes and yours isn't funny no matter how many you have to fake it with! So stop it!"_

_"Serena... I think..."_

_"No they're not! They're just fine!"_

_"T-they're... they're just...sleeping." The voice was cracked and it was followed by sobs. "...T-they're just... just sleeping... There's no way..."_

"No... Nononono," The brunette shook her head back and forth in fear, staying in one place. She didn't want to believe that it's going to be repeated all over again. It couldn't, it just wasn't possible.

Tears begin to stream down her cheeks like a nonstop flow of a river. It was the first time she cried since that day and until now, she thought that her tears had ran dry but they came back. Just like how this nightmare was coming back to haunt her. Even after all this time, she still couldn't escape from it.

Garchomp's painful cry stole everyone's attention.

It's roar resonated in the midst of the chaos and ringing in their auditory canal. It was enough to create a gust of wind that send their hair flying against their dragon type was going out of control, letting out a mighty roar and firing Hyper Beam in every direction. Its eyes were of blood red, not of a calm yellow.

Garchomp screamed out a thirst for destruction, seeing everything as its enemy. The collar around its neck was once a calm blue but now it was as red as its eyes. It leap from the roof, landing on the ground and lashing out attacks in every direction.

Next came the Tyrantiar. Its collar turn red and its eyes turn from onyx black to berserk red. Both of them rampaged with Hyper Beam aimed in every direction.

In their eyes at the moment, all they could see were red and deformed shapes, making everything before them taking a monster-like appearance.

"It's those chokers," Calem pointed. "We need to take them off!"

* * *

><p>On top of Lumiose Tower, there are three men in red suits with red hair and red sunglasses to boot. The one that looked to be the leader wore red goggles and hair that is split into three parts on his hair, showing scalp in between. He have one blue gloved arm holding up a file was the bare arm flip through the pages.<p>

The ear bud communicator he have on his air come through with static and then a male voice. "Anything interesting in the files that I gave you, Xerosic?"

The man stopped on a certain page and smirked. "Very."

"Good to hear all the work didn't go to waste. That Garchomp was going to give me away when I got there."

"Your job is not to complain."

"But I love to do that to annoy people."

Xerosic ignored that remark and continued. "You tamed it though correct?"

"Want me to give you the play by play?"

"No."

"Sour puss."

"Get on with it."

There was a low whistle, "Looks like that device of yours is not working properly, it's losing control on the Garchomp and Tyrantiar."

Xerosic scowled. "Bring it back, one of the two Pokemon included. I'll look over the design and test it with one of them."

"Roger that."

The communication was then severed, leading the man to turn from the tower view to his men. "Let's return with the report to the Executive."

* * *

><p>The Salamence circled over head with the shadow of a figure smirking down at the scene. "Maybe I'll have some fun before ending this." The figure look down at the folded red clothes him. He scowled, never liking the flashy bright color of the uniform but it will help him in more ways than one.<p>

He takes the red sunglasses resting on top and put them on, and then the rest. The figure patted his hair and frowned, can't do anything to change the color of his hair right now.

Calem and his friends got Garchomp and Tyranitar cornered with the help of their Pokemon and finally noticing the strange neck braces on the two Pokemon's necks. Calem commanded his Absol to cut them off, returning their eyes back to their normal colors. Garchomp and Tyranitar collapse in exhaustion.

Before anyone of them could approached the weary Pokemon, something landed in front of Tyranitar and Garchomp with a loud thud against the ground but nonetheless landed on his feet.

"Yo," The figure in red greeted while standing up from his one knee position.

Calem scrutinize the male that stood in front of him in the distance, finding his uniform somewhat familiar. He seemed to recall seeing people wearing the same exact uniform the other day but their hair was red as well, not blonde, like this one's.

"Who are you and are you responsible for this?"

The male grinned and snapped his finger to tell Salamence to descend. "I'll be honest and say yes and let's just say I'm a member of Team Flare."

"What?"

"An underground organization that finally rise up to the surface," The Team Flare member replied nonchalantly and turned to Garchomp and Tyranitar, taking out two cube - like objects.

"And these are coming with me." He tossed them at the two Pokemon and they were immediately encased in a force field.

"Slade, Night Slash!" Calem's Absol rushed at the male, only to have him dodge in the last second.

"Salamence, Dragon Claw!"

"Counter with Psycho Cut!" The horn extension of Absol and Salamence's claws made contact and the dragon type was pushed back against its will. The Team Flare member whistled with acknowledgement of the Absol's strength.

"You're not the Champion for nothing."

"You're not taking those Pokemon," Calem hissed with hostility.

"Try me," The male smirked back. "Salamance, Flamethrower!"

"Fay, Dazzling Gleam!" came Yvonne's command all of a sudden. A bright beam of light made contact with the fire, causing a small explosion. The blonde came up to Calem, "I'll handle this, free Tyranitar and Garchomp! We can't seem to break the case!"

The unnamed male chuckled. "What's the rush in doing so?"

Yvonne glared at him. "Fay, Fairy Wind!" Her Sylveon inhaled a deep breath before releasing a gust of sparkly wind at its opponent. It only take the male and his Salamence to take a step away to dodge it without being harmed.

"Strong, but you lack aim." he commented when his ear bud communicator called for his attention. he frowned when he was relayed the order. He sighed and turn it off, "It's always something."

He then looked at Yvonne through his glasses and grinned, "Looks like we're going to have to battle some other time."

"What?"

Just then, the sound of a helicopter blared in everyone's ears and soon enough a gust of wind picked up. Yvonne have to blocked her eyes with her arms so that nothing gets into her eyes.

"See ya next time blondie!"

The said blonde looked up to see the boy hanging from a rope ladder while two mechanical hands grabbed onto the force field - made cages. "Like you're one to talk!"

"Fire!" Calem signaled to Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno. Their starters launched a multi - elemental attack at Tyranitar's confinement, successfully breaking it. Garchomp was next until Salamence fired another Hyper Beam to cause an explosion. They next time Calem and his friends opened their eyes, the helicopter disappeared with Garchomp, leaving a mess behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_pas encore - not yet_

_douce baies crêpe - Sweet berry crepe_

_swirlix plaisir - Swirlix delight_

_Chocolat Framboise Croissant - Chocolate raspberry croissant_

_étincelante gâteau au fromage - sparkling cheesecake_

_thé à la camomille clair de lune - moonlight chamomile tea_

_Quoi - What_

_En aucune façon - No way_

_Parfaitement - perfectly_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	7. Chapter 7 - A Rekindling Flame?

Chapter 7

**Reviews:**

_**Pokmon Luminous - Thanks and next chapter's out now! I'll try to update as frequently as I can.**_

_**RosesOfTruth - And repeat it will, let's just see how Serena will cope with it. :)**_

_**Cottonmouth25 - LOL, that's funny XD**_

**Thanks for the reviews and onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The chilling night settled into Lumiose but the lights around the city made it look almost daytime.<p>

Serena sat on top of the rubble that used to be Prof. Sycamore's lab, slightly curled up with a distant look in her eyes. She was looking at a shattered picture frame that she found but it was meaningless now so she just dropped it. Instead, she observed lifelessly as the injured - Prof. Sycamore being one of them - were carried into ambulances and several Officer Jennys taking command and running around like crazy.

But it didn't matter to the brunette. She wondered why didn't they shown up earlier? Why didn't the police officers step in earlier? Surely they would notice a huge commotion such as the event that preceded would get even the most oblivious person to notice.

Serena bit the bottom of her lips with a bitter look in her eyes.

"They're incompetent. Every single one of them." She found herself muttering without a thought and a feeling of incrimination dwelling inside of her as she observed.

Her hearing detected the crumbling of rocks under someone's feet as they walked towards her but she kept her inculpating gaze forward, observing how people were trying to repair what damage dealt.

The footsteps stopped behind Serena and she felt a hand being placed gently on her shoulder, careful to be sure that it was the good one.

"Hey... are you okay?" Calem's voice traveled into the brunette's auditory canal. It was a warm and tender voice filled with care but... it didn't reach Serena's scarred heart. "You should get that arm checked."

The touch was enough to send an unknown static through Serena's body that she wasn't fond of. Not at all.

The brunette brushed his hand off and slowly stood up with her hands balled into fists and clenched tightly until they were pearl white.

"...Why..." Serena muttered, her eyes hidden beneath her bangs while she rotated her body to face Calem.

"Why?" The boy furrowed his brows, not understanding what the brunette was trying to say, yet he could detect that she was trying to suppress her emotions when her voice sound strained.

An uncomfortable silence loomed over the two teens despite all the clamor in the background. Her figure was trembling; Calem couldn't tell if it was in tears or in anger, maybe both.

Serena uncurled her fists when she thought that she had herself under control but quickly clench her fist again when her mind was filled with negative thoughts and emotions once more. She tried to keep them under control; she promised herself that she would hide her emotions away long ago but she just couldn't, not ever since she stepped into Kalos.

"Serena..?" Calem said in uncertainty, furrowing her brows in concern.

She couldn't stand it anymore, not when everything was falling apart, not when all reason escaped from her.

"...Why..." She repeated in a trembling tone but Calem frowned when the brunette just trailed off again.

The cap was coming off, releasing everything that was bottled up.

"Is there somet -"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE MY MOM?! " Serena burst out in angry tears, causing Calem to freeze at her sudden upsurge in volume. "YOU COULD'VE SAVED HER BUT YOU DIDN'T! NOW SHE'S GONE!"

"Wh -"

Calem couldn't finish his question when he felt the surge of pain across his right cheek, sending his head jerking in another direction. The resounding slap of the brunette's hand against the face of the boy echoed in the space surrounding them as if they were the only two that were there right now.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAVE ME ARCEUS DAMMIT! BECAUSE OF YOU, I JUST LOST ONE MORE! WHAT KIND OF CHAMPION ARE YOU?!"

Calem has his eyes widen and his head tilted to the side, where Serena's hand had moved it. His face stung with the hit and a red hand mark was visible on his face. The boy slowly turn to see the anguished expression in the brunette's tear-streaked face. Something he didn't expect.

Everyone seemed to have stopped what they were doing, stunned by Serena's outburst. Shauna and her friends were beyond shocked by this, she was going to stopped Serena before something else happens but someone beat her to it.

Yvonne hurried to the raven hair boy's side and asked if he was okay. She then glared at the brunette sending a 'what-the-hell-was-that-for' look.

"Aren't you being a bit unreasonable?! Calem isn't the blame for this!" The blonde argued in fuming irritation. "So don't push all of that onto him!"

"THEN WHO'S TO BLAME FOR TAKING MY MOM'S LIFE?!" Serena snapped back vehemently which clamped Yvonne's jaws shut, mostly because the dire reason of Serena's behavior was finally handed to her on a silver platter._  
><em>

"I..." Calem tried to reach out to grab her shoulder but the brunette slapped it away with brute force.

"Shut up, I don't need your pity! You..." Serena suddenly tuned her volume to merely above a whisper as if all her strength has left her after the bellow. "All of you... not one of you can understand any of this!"

"I thought I was done..." Serena shook her head solemnly, the never ending stream of tears escaping her eyes. "But it just have to come back and take one more person away from me... Why... Why can't I keep anyone close to me without losing them?!"

The brunette turned on her heel, making haste to run out of there, wanting nothing more than to leave the forsaken city. She heard the the call to come back, no doubt from Calem, but she didn't stop.

She wished that she never had came to Kalos.

* * *

><p>Calem felt a boulder adding to the many rocks that were already in his stomach. He stood frozen in his spot when he saw Serena running off, his hand clutching onto the red felt hat that he found earlier and wanting to give it back. He never saw the girl looking so hurt, so vulnerable ever since they met. The boy always had the impression that she was as sturdy and cold as a pillar. But of course, this has to happen.<p>

Something else that Serena had said shook him to his very core.

One more person? She already lost someone else?

His eyes trailed down to the broken frame at the spot that Serena was standing just now. He picked it up and recognized it as the one he saw earlier upon Serena's arrival to Lumiose.

Calem looked thoroughly though it until his gaze lead back to the man standing next to Grace with little Serena, who wore a straw hat(That looks familiar to him), in front of them. He was holding onto one of little Serena's shoulder with Grace placing a hand on the other. His eyes showed happiness and the love and protection that a father would give to his family.

He stared at the picture for a moment and everything seemed to clicked into place.

In the next moment or two, he was running after Serena who had already disappeared from sight. His friends called out to him to ask where he was going. He looked over his shoulder and reply - "I'll be back! Help the others!"

Serena was injured and having an mental break down with no one she can turn for comfort, not with Prof. Sycamore being unconscious and all. He couldn't let her roam around in Lumiose alone, especially during the night.

Her face flashed in Calem's mind. He saw the pain written all over it but there was also something else. Her eyes showed hints of fear and vulnerability, like that of a child. He felt responsible for it and if Serena was to be left alone, something dreadful was bound to happen.

"Chapeau de Paille fille..."

* * *

><p>Serena wander into one of the many alley ways of Lumiose, replaying back what she had said to Calem. Why did she have to do that? Why did she let her emotions get the best off her?<p>

It wasn't his fault, but instead of a simple 'thank you' for saving her life, she blamed Calem for her loss. Yvonne was right, it really wasn't his fault nor was it Garchomp's and Tyranitar's.

She leaned against the wall, slumping down for her legs were just too tired and the pain in her upper arm was coming back. She grimaced as she sat down, the blood was already dried but it still hurts.

She sighed and glanced up at the narrow view she had of the night sky, her eyes filling back up with tears again as she was reminded of what had happened.

Nothing could be done to reverse it. There was nothing she or anyone could do anymore. She should have fought back, try to defend but she didn't. Even when she had a -

Serena saw someone running this way but she didn't have time to hide. She merely look back from the sky to find a girl with untamed black hair wearing a patched up blue shirt and light orange skirt. She looked to be out of breath and holding tightly onto a lilac Pokemon, a Pokemon that Serena couldn't recognize since she didn't bother to study the Pokemon that reside in Kalos.

The girl was hiding in the corner, against the wall as she warily took glances to the entrance to the alley way to see if danger was still near. "I... think they -" The girl stopped dead in her tracks when her head veered in the direction where Serena was sitting. The girl tensed up and the Pokemon raised her guard up.

Serena return an idle look back at them before steering her gaze forward, staring at the wall opposite of her, not a word escape from her mouth.

Silence befall them, it didn't bother Serena but it did bother the girl. She was cautious, as if Serena will do something to her any second now but she never did.

"... Who are you?" The girl interrogated, breaking the long endured silence.

Serena steer her attention back to the girl, "Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name?"

Judging by the brunette's accent, the girl could tell that she isn't from here. The ebony girl bit the bottom of her lips with a wary look but she replied nonetheless. "Emma."

The brunette nodded, "Serena." And her gaze fell onto the Pokemon in her arms that still looked ready to attack if necessary. "And who's that?"

"My friend, Mimi the Espurr." Emma replied curtly. "What are you doing here?"

Serena merely shrugged. "Why were you running?" She redirected the question back to the younger girl since she really didn't want to answer. And from the looks of it, Emma didn't look any younger than twelve, too younger to be wondering the streets alone. "Shouldn't your parents be looking for you?"

A look of sorrow crossed Emma's blue eyes before it faded away in a matter of seconds. "I... don't have any."

"Oh." was all the brunette could reply back, feeling like she saw herself in the younger girl. "I guess we have something in common then."

This perked up the interest in the raven hair girl and she approached the brunette until she was standing next her sitting body. "You don't have any either?"

"...Not anymore."

Emma examined the brunette to see that her clothes were somewhat tattered and a few scratches here and there. What caught most of her attention was the wound in Serena's arm. Emma could only conclude that something terrible must have happened and no doubt it involved the chaos from earlier.

The younger girl decided that Serena meant no harm and sat down next to her, stroking the fur of Espurr's head.

Seeing Emma's and Mimi's bond reminded the brunette of... She quickly shook her head and sighed. "You and Espurr remind me of something."

"Of what?"

The brunette wasn't sure if she should confine what she was thinking to Emma since they did _just_ met after all. She didn't even know why she even blurted out the previous comment in the first place.

"...Nothing," Serena said dully. "Just thinking about it only remind me of why I don't want to become too close to a Pokemon."

Emma frowned at the reply, "You don't make sense."

Serena merely shrugged it off, she didn't want it to make sense anyways. She want a change of subject, to take her mind off of her problems. "Even if you don't have parents, you shouldn't be wandering around during the night."

"Comme vous?" The girl quipped back to which Serena found no reply to. Emma looked up to the sky, deep in thought for a moment. "I don't have a home to belong to as long as I can remember. But the Lumiose streets isn't bad either. Just need to learn the shortcuts to get around the city without being seen."

The brunette gave Emma a blank stare, wondering how the young girl even survive till this day. She couldn't help but ask another question. "Don't... you find it hard out here? With no one to turn to?"

Emma looked a her and grinned like a perfectly normal girl without any troubles. "It does. Nobody really seem like they wanted to help me so I just take matters into my own hands whether they like my method or not. Sometimes it's hard to find food and other times, I get in trouble with those Lumiose gangs. But as long as Mimi is with me, I won't ever be worried. Right Mimi?"

_"Of course!"_ The psychic type chirped, waving her arms about in cheerfulness though the Espurr's words were unintelligible to the human ear.

"..." Serena fixed Emma and Mimi an odd look. Despite her dreadful life, Emma was coping better than Serena in every way. All the brunette had been doing was moping around all these years.

_Take matters into... _

"There you are!" called a gruff voice in annoyance, gaining the attention of Serena, Emma, and Mimi. Out from the shadows came gang members wearing leather jackets with Krookodile logos on the back. All of them sport crazy hair styles and left part of their scalp visible for all to see.

"Yeh think yeh can get away with messing with us?" Said one of the five members present.

Emma stood up with Mimi glaring at them acromoiously. "Can't you get over just a little bump?"

"Ya dirty our le caïd's brand new shoes in the little bump of yers!" Hissed another one. The bulky member that seemed to be the leader of the group jeered at Serena when he noticed her.

"So yer the brat that the lower members were talking about."

The brunette stood up, fixing the gang a cold glare. "What about me?"

"Oh?" The guy said sardonically. "They didn't tell me that the little foreign girl could speak Kalosian."

Serena look at the bulky man warily, trying to figure out where exactly he was going with this. He made a silent for his followers to take out their pokeballs.

"We'll teach you two why you don't mess with the Krookodile Gang."

Their pokeballs tossed up and out came two Krokorok, two Vullaby, and a Krookodile. All of them have menacing looks on their faces, wanting to tear up their victims at their trainers' order.

"Mimi," Emma said with hints of concern. The Pokemon sensed the girl's uncertainties and hopped out of her arms and onto the ground. She gave Emma a look as if saying that she can fight.

Each of the Krookodile Gang commanded an attack at the little Espurr. The lilac Pokemon's eyes glowed in a blue hue, levitating the enemies up and against the wall, though Psychic didn't effect the reptile Pokemon. The two Krokorok swept in for a Bite attack. Mimi hop onto one as to tried to lunge in but got bit by the second Krokorok. She yelped in pain as Krokorok's jaws sank past her fur and into her skin.

The Desert Croc Pokemon released his clutches and threw Mimi against the ground with a loud thud.

"Mimi!" Emma cried out worriedly, hastily made her way to the Pokemon's side. The gangs laughed in entertainment which was sick to Serena's ears. She watch as Mimi tried to stand up with Emma beginning to cry for the injured Espurr.

"..." The brunette have a unfathomable expression on her face but she knows when enough is enough. Emma's earlier words echoed in her ears as her fingers touch a round object at her waistline, hidden underneath the jacket she wore.

"Matters... into my own hands..." She muttered. Her eyes darted up, analyzing her opponents. They were at a disadvantage so she will have to find a way to escape.

"Flamethrower." She commanded upon enlarging a red and white ball and tossing it up. In the next second, the alley way was filled with the red and orange of heated fire. While they were blinded, Serena took the chance to grab Emma and Mimi and escape from their.

...

Serena and Emma separated after the escape, with the former telling her to be careful next time around.

The brunette was deep in thought as her legs took her the nowhere especially.

_"Is there something wrong?" _The Pokemon at her feet snapped her out of her reverie with her call. She looked down at the Fox Pokemon and realized that she didn't recall her back to her pokeball after escaping from trouble.

The small fox returned a look of confusion to the brunette since she was never called out before into a battle. But all of a sudden, her trainer had summoned her for help. Despite the language barrier, Serena seemed to have understood the Fennekin's perplexity though she didn't know why she had done it herself either.

"Sorry," Serena apologized brusquely. "It was abrupt wasn't it?"

Fennekin's gaze stay glued on its trainer as she tilted her head, letting the perfectly round stone around her neck to swing in the same motion.

"...Is it okay... if... if you stay with me?" Serena queried almost timidly of her Pokemon that she had been keeping a secret from everyone else.

_"Absolutely!" _Fennekin yelped in compliance, happy that Serena had made such a request.

Despite the fact the Serena had received Fennekin over a year ago, the brunette was wary of getting too close to the Fox Pokemon. It wasn't like she had a fear of them, she was afraid that if she gets too close, they'll end up being taken from her. It was as if the God of Death had a grudge against her and those closed to her.

Serena sighed at a loss. She thought that things wouldn't repeat itself but she was wrong. The more she thought about her mom and of her uncle, the more guilt and remorse piling against her. She really should have acted back then but she didn't. It wasn't anyone's fault.

Fennekin sensed its trainer's dampening mood and tried to ask if she was okay. But of course, all Serena could here was Fennekin repeating her name in chunks.

The brunette caught on though and stopped in her tracks as she sighed once more.

"You... You really do remind me of her..." She look down at Fennekin again, being torn over what to do. "What should I do..."

In her mind, she was remembering what had happened to Tyranitar and Garchomp and why they went berserk the way they did. Who could've done such of deed to innocent Pokemon?

What _did_ caused them to go out on a rampage?

Who was behind this?

The image of that red collar, the Mach and Armor Pokemon being encased, and the guy dressed in red popped into her mind. The smirk on his face told it all.

_Team Flare, _Her hands balled up into fists, boiling anger replaced her sorrow. _They're at fault. What's more is that they took Garchomp. Her _uncle's_ Garchomp._

Serena crouch down close to Fennekin's level, staring directly at the fire starter. Her hands reluctantly reach out to pet the Pokemon while Fennekin wait patiently.

She have to get Garchomp back.

"They're messing with the wrong girl," Serena muttered with determination and revenge in her eyes as she gently ruffle the Fox Pokemon's head. "How about we show them what they're in for, Belle?"

_"I'll be with you all the way!" _Fennekin piped encouragingly as Serena did the act. The Fox Pokemon was happy and shock at the same time since Serena never did make any attempt to close the gape between them before. Sure she told the Fox Pokemon about her past when they meet and that gave Fennekin the understanding of why Serena was the way she was. But she had always yearned to go on an adventure like that that Serena had described to her.

Serena carry her Pokemon in her arms and continue walking, only for her to stop in front of the Pokemon Center. "But first, a few introductions are in order."

With her mind set, the brunette stepped into the Pokemon Center and head the nearest video phone booth. She returned Fennekin into her pokeball when she got their. Her hand hover in front of the number pad with hesitance. She heaved a deep breath before dialing the numbers. It only took a few seconds before a man that look to be in his late sixties came up on the screen.

"Why hello there Serena!"

She nodded and opened her mouth to speak of her request.

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_Chapeau de Paille fille - Straw hat girl_

_Comme vous? - Like you?_

_le caïd - boss_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	8. Chapter 8 - Other Side of Christmas

Chapter 8

**Reviews:**

_**RosesOfTruth - .You'll just have to wait and see... in the future chapters :)**_

_**Cottonmouth25 - Aw, thanks for the support! I do appreciate it when people review my stories but I don't want to force them if they don't want to.**_

**Thanks for reviewing!**

**Merry... Late Christmas? Sorry, I kinda forgot but it's only a day after right? Right? And that chapter kind - no not really - fits the date since it's a span of two days. And it's better late that on time for this one and you'll see why.**

**Warning: Worst chapter for Christmas EVER.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.**

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><p>The rain pounded relentlessly against the ground and all the onlookers. The weather forecaster had predicted a light drizzle but people didn't expect it to turn into a downpour; it was as if the heaven was crying as well.<p>

Everyone present was under an umbrella; everyone with the exception of a certain brunette, who didn't have a care in the world about her health at the moment.

Serena stared placidly at the tombstone that engraved her mother's name as she place down a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Her hands tighten into fists but that's all the emotions that she allowed herself to show. There were other people at the funeral of Grace Yuuki and Serena didn't want to break down in front of them. She didn't want their pity.

An umbrella was placed over her head to shield her from the wailing of the dark clouds hanging overhead. The brunette looked over her shoulder to see her uncle, in crutches due to his leg, looking at her with a painful look. Robin, the Fletching, perched on the Professor's shoulder solemnly while Aaron, Grace's Rhyhorn, sat beside him. Both sniveling and crying over the loss of their trainer. The two Pokemon had been safe with Prof. Sycamore when Grace handed them to him for a quick check-up before the event.

"You're going to catch a cold," He said but his voice was drowned in the rain and the howling wind.

Serena continued to stare at his red, swollen eyes, knowing that her uncle had been mourning over the loss of their family member.

"..." She returned her gaze back at the grave, not knowing exactly how she should express her feelings to her uncle while everyone was present. She felt him placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and grip tightly as if Serena would disappear if he let go of her, though it has a tender touch to it.

There was a moment of silence despite the howling wind and the incessant pit - pat of the rain.

"You know the last thing I said to her was I didn't have time for chitchat?" Serena finally spoke up in a solemn tone. "What I wouldn't give to talk to her now."

"Serena..." Prof. Sycamore peered at the girl with sorrow - filled eyes. "It's okay to cry you know."

The brunette shook her head, "No. I doubt mom want to see me cry when she already complained enough about me scowling too much. But I can't smile either because it would just be empty and forced."

She then looked up at Prof. Sycamore. "How's... the search for Garchomp?"

The Professor saw her deliberate attempt to change the subject though he knew that she cared at the Mach Pokemon. He could only sigh upon hearing the name of his missing Pokemon. "Still no trace of where they took him."

"I see..." Serena looked back down at the grave as hatred and anger rise within her once more. "... I'll make them pay."

"C'mon, Prof. Sycamore said, not catching what the brunette was muttering. "Let's not stay in the rain for too long or Grace wouldn't forgive me if you get sick."

Serena stayed put and the Kalos Professor started to worry as to what the brunette was thinking right now.

"I'm going home. I want some time alone," Serena said brusquely and coldly, then walked off without waiting for a reply from her uncle nor did she pay any of the visitors any attention as she breezed past them.

Prof. Sycamore could only watch as his niece disappear from view, knowing full well that Serena wanted to privacy but this was an emotional moment for the teenager even if she does not show it. She might need someone to lean on whether she like it or not. He looked back to the tombstone with conflicted eyes. "What should I do Grace?"

* * *

><p>Calem grew more and more agitated when his searches were nothing but fruitless efforts. He couldn't located where Team Flare was after they had caused so much chaos to Lumiose. How was it that an organization suddenly appeared out of nowhere and disappear right after without a trace?<p>

Being the Champion of Kalos, it was his responsibility to over look safety of its inhabitants but right now, he felt like he was doing a poor job of it. Sometimes, he really did regret taking over the position. Why wasn't he just happy with being an ace trainer? The Champion's job was strenuous and out right boring as hell!

Calem looked at the time on his Holo Caster, seeing that it was getting late, he decided to end the day right there and then. He was already in a sour mood as it was since he couldn't help but feel guilty about what Serena had told him. He couldn't find the brunette that night in Lumiose and he felt obliged to attend the funeral to pay his respects and to have a talk with Serena. But that plan went down the drain when he was asked to do searches across the region for the next few days for the missing Garchomp by the Pokemon Association, therefore missing the funeral all together.

It only made him want to punch himself for it.

He landed at Prof. Sycamore's lab on a rainy day with the side of occasional rolling thunder and flashing lightning. He disliked the fact that he have no good news to bring for the good Professor about his stolen Pokemon... again.

Calem sighed in defeat, being drenched in the rain. "... Why did I even want the Champion's title?"

"Cal!" came Shauna's voice from behind. The boy looked over his shoulder to make out about seven figures in the rain at night. His friends quickly approached him with an umbrella, seeing that he had none.

"What are you doing out here?!" Yvonne inquired in concern of her friend. "You're going to catch a cold."

Calem kept his eyes on the ground as Prof. Sycamore came up with Dexio and Sina each holding an umbrella over him because his hands were occupied with crutches.

"I'm sorry..." The young Champion muttered apologetically, clenching his fists tightly until they were ghost white. "But I couldn't find anything."

Prof. Sycamore shook his head and pat the boy on the shoulder reassuringly. "I know you're trying your best and I didn't expect Garchomp to be found so easily."

There was worry in his eyes but giving Calem an understanding look, he smiled weakly despite what had happened in the past few days. "Let's not all stand in the rain alright?"

With that, everyone entered the building to dry off.

Calem couldn't help but notice that Serena was not part of the group that came back to Lumiose City and asked of her whereabouts. His friends only cast worry glances at each other before Prof. Sycamore gave an answer to that.

"She want some time to think," he replied.

"What?!" The raven haired teen exclaimed in shock and there was something else in there that he couldn't quite depict. "But Professor, she's your niece! Shouldn't you be comforting her?!"

Prof. Sycamore knew that the boy meant well but he shook his head again. "It's better that way. Serena is someone that like to be left along when she have a lot to think about. She despise any company that approaches her during that period of time."

"But..." Calem countered, thinking of all the possibilities that the brunette could do if she was left along with the knowledge that she couldn't see her mother ever again. "But what if she does something idiotic?!"

That got everyone else's imaginations gearing up as to what Serena could do to herself.

The Professor shook his head for the third time today. "I know Serena and I know she wouldn't resort to that after all that she had been through." A sad smile crept on his face. "You guys might not know it but my little niece probably have the strongest personality that I know of, other than her father of course. I can only guess that that's where she got it from."

"... Is her father..." Shauna gulped, half wanting to know the answer, while half of her doesn't. "Still on Earth?"

Prof. Sycamore sighed in dismay. "No. He and Grace are far out of Serena's reach by now."

Silence crashed down upon everyone in the room as the information sank in. Calem, who had already figured that much out, couldn't help but feel shocked once more. He grit his teeth and head for the door, only to be stopped by his friends.

"Where are you going?" Shauna questioned while grabbing a hold on one of the young Champion's arms.

"To find Serena." He answered curtly.

"It's raining outside and you're still in your wet clothes. You'll get sick!" Yvonne exclaimed, tightening her grip on his other arm.

"Yvonne's right," Tierno agreed. "It's raining Growlithe and Meowth out there."

"I CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER BY HERSELF!" Calem's sudden upsurge startled everyone since he was never the one to raise his voice unless he has too. The Professor would be amused by his actions right at the moment but he didn't have time to be.

Despite Calem's good intentions to go find his niece, Prof. Sycamore knew what that would result in.

"Don't," The Professor said with furrowed brows. "She'll be fine."

"But..."

"Serena knows that life can throw curve balls at her," Prof. Sycamore continued, ignoring Calem's protest. "She knows how to deal with it herself. Believe me, I'm just as worry about her as you are but please don't make this harder on all of us."

"Is this..." Trevor spoke up for the first time they had arrived into the lab. "Is Serena always like this?"

Prof. Sycamore's expression changed to that of pain while Calem knew the answer already. The others were curious about this for a while now but seeing how the Professor had reacted, Trevor wondered if he had stepped over the line.

"... No," Prof. Sycamore replied brusquely. "But that's not my tale to tell. I already told you more than I should have."

The Professor then tried to force a smile. "Now, why don't we all change into something dry and have some Hot Coco? It's..it's..." He had a hard time saying whatever that was on his mind since this could be the worst possible day ever. "It's... December 25th after all."

Shauna and everyone else, with the exception of Calem and Prof. Sycamore, widen their eyes in realization of the date. It was the whole reason why they met up in the first place! Yet they couldn't help think that it just didn't feel like it. Just not today.

* * *

><p>Serena walked all the way back to Vaniville Town since the funeral had taken place in Aquacorde Town.<p>

The water pellets from the downpour soaked her body to the bones but she didn't bother to walk any faster to get to a dry sanctuary. She knew that her world was falling apart but what can she do now other than to move on. The pain wasn't as harsh as the first time but losing both of her parents wasn't something that the girl could quickly recuperate from.

_"Don't let anything get you down, no matter what."_

_"Always stay strong." _

The voice echoed through her now restless mind. "I know mom..." She then looked up at the dark clouds with her hands in her wet jacket pockets while water droplets hit her face. "But it's hard to do that sometimes you know? Now that you're up there with dad and Pika while I'm still down here."

Serena turned her head back down and continue her slow trek home. She entered the front yard of untamed grass and hedges and unlock the door to her house with a key she always keeps with her.

"... I'm home," Serena's dead voice echoed through the house as she closed the door behind her. Even though she knew that no one will ever be living in this house other than herself, she just wanted to say it out of the comfort that it gave, even if it was for a short while.

Serena stood at the door observing how the house hasn't change since they moved in; there's still a few boxes that were sealed and labeled with what the content was inside. She stood by the door long enough for a puddle to form around her feet due to her doused appearance.

She took off her shoes and trudge up the stairs,a trail of water following her, into her room for something dry to change into. She opened the closet for any set of clothes she had hanging, but then, a package sitting in the corner caught her eyes. She didn't think she missed any of the boxes when Grace told her to unpack though this one was nicely wrapped in colorful paper with a tag that said it was addressed to her, as if it was a present of some degree.

After changing into the black blouse, red skirt, and black stockings that she hadn't wore in a long time, she reached for the box and took it out. She mentally not that it was heavier than it looked.

Serena unwrapped the box and opened it, only to find familiar looking objects. A Holo Caster in a red and black case, a few potions, pokeballs, a pink bag, two sets of clothes, shoes, and other necessities for travel. Serena stared at all of this in pure surprise. Did her mom prepared this just in case she ever want to change her mind about exploring Kalos?

On top of everything, the brunette found a folded letter and right underneath it was a red, thin, rectangular device.

Her Pokedex.

Serena picked the article up and brushed her fingers against the cold surface before unfolding the piece of paper filled with cursive writing.

_Dear Serena,_

_Always remember that you will always be our sweet little angel no matter what happens and seeing that look on your face ever since your father passed on pain me so much._

_I always hoped that you would return to your old self again. That day when you promised yourself that you will give up on your dream to explore the world, that you will never became a trainer again, I thought I lost my sweet little girl that I was always proud of. I know that you could never get over that incident, it's been difficult for me as well but for someone as young as you to experience that... it's not good for your health. It wasn't your fault so don't be so hard on yourself._

_I'm so glad that you're taking off on an adventure again, I don't have to see you around the house that often with that frown anymore! Ha ha ha, I'm just joking dear! I'll always miss you wherever you are._

_Go and make us proud Serena. Have fun, make plenty of friends, people and Pokemon alike, but most important of all, don't forget to smile! And remember that we'll support you all the way!_

_Love,_

_Your mom, who will always be there to cheer you on!_

A tear dropped onto the letter, smudging the words, but it followed by another, then another, until Serena was crying her heart out. She couldn't believe that her mom had went through the trouble of gathering all of these things and wrote this for when she travels again.

"Mom... Dad... Pika... I'm so sorry," She murmured and cradled herself into a fetal position as she reminisced about the past. "I'm sorry for making you all worry about me!"

The brunette could think nothing but to cry and mutter to herself for hours on end, finally able to release all the stress that weighed on her shoulders. She felt a wave a exhaustion finally catching up to her after everything that had happened, dragging her into a deep slumber.

The last time she thought of was today's date.

"Merry... Christmas..." She mumbled unconsciously.

...

Sunlight pierced through the window of the brunette's room, leaving a warm sensation on Serena that she haven't felt since the rain penetrated through her skin. She woke up drowsily and rubbed her eyes so that her vision would focus on her surroundings. Though she was confuse for a second as to where she was, she then remembered that she had cried herself to sleep last night.

For once in a while now, Serena felt refresh, as if a large rock was finally lifted off her shoulder. She yawned and stretched, only to find that she was still holding her mom's letter in her hand.

The brunette stared at the piece of paper with an unfathomable expression before looking through the box again. Her lips curved upward in the slightest manner as she looked at the items.

"Thanks mom."

The brunette checked the time and date on the Holo Caster and found that she had slept for the entire night and a half day undisturbed, no wonder she felt refresh.

She then strapped the Holo Caster at her waist, along with three pokeballs clipped to her belt. She adjusted the black bracelet around her wrist for comfort. Serena would never leave anywhere without it, just like her hat. Why? Similar to her hat and glasses, it was a gift, from her cousin, before she moved around the world though she did wonder how her cousin was doing at times. Serena never really stayed in contact with her cousin.

Speaking of which...

Serena felt her head and then looked around, finding her hat nowhere to be seen. She bit the bottom of her lips, wondering where she could have left the accessory and why she hadn't notice until now.

"Tch, must have dropped it in Lumiose..." Serena mutter to herself. "If someone takes my hat, I'm gong to make them regret that they came about in the world."

Yep, that's just how important the brunette's hat was to her.

Decided her first task was to get her hat back - even though it would be impossible by now - Serena took the pink bag, along with everything that she packed into it. She looked through her drawer to find another perfectly wrapped gift. It was supposed to be a Christmas present for her mother but she had forgotten to take it with her when she was...

The brunette sighed and hr shoulders slumped. "Maybe I should give it to her on her birthday instead."

Serena entered the living room, taking in the setting and remembering the short while that she and her mom had lived in the house. She he put on the brand new pair of pink and black running shoes and leaving the house, not forgetting to lock it after. Out on the porch, Serena blocked the sun out of her eyes with her hands, seeing that she still have time to get to Lumiose before the day ends.

Even if the sun is up, the cold December air still struck her bare arms and giving her goosebumps. Serena mentally took note to get a winter coat at a clothing store when she passes one.

The brunette took one last look at the house before fingering her hand in her hair. "I'll be going now Mom."

Serena had had negative thoughts before but she had already decided on her resolve a few days back and reading the letter only strengthen that par to her to see it through till the end.

* * *

><p><strong>I think... I just wrote about the WHOLE other side of the holiday... I'm sorry, I have just been listening to this one sound <em>Safe and Sound <em>and it just gave me this sad mood. I don't even know why I even listen to it in the first place, maybe its because it gave me some ideas... bad/sad ones at that.**

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	9. Chapter 9 - VS Team Flare Scientist

Chapter 9

**Reviews:**

_**RosesOfTruth - Nope it wouldn't. Now that she will either have to live by herself or live with her uncle.**_

_**Guest - Ah, thank you for compliment and I'll try to make less mistakes in future chapters as possible. Grammar is forever my worst enemy. T-T**_

_**Flowerlet - Glad to hear that I was successful in making the chapter sentimental! **_

_**Cottonmouth25 - Yes, yet he fails to comfort her. Maybe later on.**_

**Thanks for the reviews and onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Serena stood in front of the entrance to Santalune Forest... or at least that's what the map in her hand said. The brunette is looking at the map of the Kalos region as we speak.<p>

She wasn't familiar with the region's environment since she rarely step foot into Kalos because of the out-of-the-region trips that she was always forced on though she took them for granted.

"What's the fastest way through..." Serena mutter to herself, covering her eyes from the sun high up in the sky.

"Hey you!"

That snapped the brunette out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a youngster approaching her, the longing to battle conspicuous in his eyes.

"When trainers make eye contact, they're to have a battle!" the boy declared with a pokeball thrust forward in his hand. "And I been waiting for more people to battle after months' worth of training!"

"..." She deadpanned at him. Seriously? Eye contact? It's still the same stupid unwritten trainer code like it was in Kanto, Serena thought, she found it annoying sometimes, while other times, it helped her release some of her frustration and anger. Glad to hear something will never change. The brunette really didn't have anything against it but who the heck created that farcical rule?

"Eh bien?" The boy said, tapping his foot impatiently and tossing his pokeball up the next second. "Let's go!"

Finding no way out of this, Serena sighed. She let Belle out of her Pokeball to face the Linoone it front of them. Her starter sat there, letting the situation sink in, and then looked over her shoulders at Serena as if asking if this was real. She was still astonished at Serena's decision as few nights ago and met two of her trusty companions. She could only think of this as a dream yet it isn't.

Serena couldn't help but chuckle at the Fennekin's odd behavior, understanding that this is be the first time she will be using her against another trainer. "Let's make a good first impression okay Belle?"

The Fennekin's ruby yes sparkle in excitement. _"You bet!"_

"Linoone, use Quick Att -"

"Tackle." Serena called out instinctively, cutting the youngester off and catching him off guard. This was second nature to her, to counter an attack like the snap of her finger. It was like a reflex, an instinct. After all this time, she still have it. Remembering back to what her father had told her about the Butterfree, he was right. Instincts really do die hard.

...

Linoone lay unconscious on the ground, with burnt marks all over his body.

….Maybe Serena trained Fennekin for the _tiniest_ amount of time in that one year gape - out of boredom - and she and Belle overdid it in this battle. The Linoone didn't last more than two attacks.

The youngster stood frozen in shock, with his mouth agape. It had barely been a minute and he and his Pokemon was already defeated. He was pretty sure that the brunette was just a beginner, judging by how she was looking at a map. He shouldn't have judged a book by its cover, like last time.

"You're as strong as that guy that inspired me to train over a year ago!" He pointed at the brunette. Serena raised a brow at the sudden outburst.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Austin." the kid added, returning his Linoone. Serena remained silent as he goes on about some trainer he fought a year ago but in all honesty, who could remember a random trainer they fought a year ago? Or cared for that matter. Serena doesn't.

"I couldn't believe he became a champion though! I want to battle him again."

Serena and Belle exchanged looks. The brunette nudged to the direction of the forest while Austin rant on. The fire starter nodded, the round stone protruding out of her golden fur again.

As soon they started walking, Austin called out to them.

"Hey! Are you going through Santalune Forest?" He asked, catching up to Serena. The brunette merely nodded before advancing even more and silently praying that the boy wouldn't follow her.

"Then let me guide you!" The youngest offered haughtily. "I lived on the other side and I came through the forest often. And maybe you can teach me a thing or two while we're at it!"

"...Whatever you say Oscar." She muttered, hiding her dismay.

"Oscar?" The boy said in confusion. At that, Serena cursed her own mouth from speaking that aloud. She can't remember what this kid's name was despite learning about it just a minute ago. Heck, she can't remember anyone's name if her life depends on it! Well, as long as it's the name of those that she didn't care to know about since they were mere acquaintances.

The brunette bit her lips and talked no longer as they entered the forest. Silence hung in the air... if silence was defined as Serena getting a headache from the nonstop jabbing of Austin's mouth then yeah, they were silent. She desperately wanted to get rid of him but he knows his way around the forest. She would get around herself but knew that the faster she made it out of Santalune Forest, the better, but she didn't mind the scenery though.

What Serena noticed about the forest, other than the pointless information that Austin was providing her, was that it looked quite similar to the Viridian Forest in Kanto.

"You been to Kanto?" Austin piped up in awe and having a new found respect for the brunette. His remark snapped the girl from her trip down memory lane.

Serena gave him a strange look before realizing she was thinking out loud. She merely shrugged as a piece of memory flashed back at her.

_"AAAAIIIEEEE!" cried the voice of two teenagers as they ran out of the bushes and away from a horde of Beedrill trying to stab the two with their lethal stingers. The two brunettes, one could be recognized as a ten year old Serena while the other girl was unknown. She have similar features to Serena but looked slightly older._

_The two were running for their lives through the forest of Viridian since they didn't have to right Pokemon to defeat an entire swarm of Poison Bee Pokemon._

_"I'm totally going to catch a fire type Pokemon the next time I get the chance!" Serena exclaimed to the top of her lungs._

_"I told you it was a bad idea but no, you just didn't listen!" The older girl reprimanded. "Look where you got us now?!"_

_"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THE WEEDLE WOULD LEAD TO A BUNCH OF BEEDRILL, LEAF?!" Serena retaliated while still running as fast as her legs could carry her and keeping her hat in place. "ALL I WANTED WAS TO CATCH HIM!"_

_"HAVEN'T I WARN YOU BEFORE THAT THIS PLACE WAS FILLED WITH THEM?! AND IF YOU FIND A WEEDLE, THERE'S _GOING_ TO BE A SWARM OF BEEDRILL?! BUT NO, YOU JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW THAT BUG!" Leaf retorted while dodging a branch that she was about to collide with. "WHY DO YOU WANT TO CATCH A WEEDLE ANYWAYS?!"_

_"JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE BUGS DOESN'T MEAN - oh hey look!" Serena stopped her retaliation upon seeing someone familiar up ahead. "There's your boyfriend! Let's ask him to help us out of this situation with his fire type Pokemon!"_

_"FOR THE LAST TIME, HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Leaf yelled at the top of her lungs and waving her hands about comically though there was a slight hue of pink on her cheeks. Despite the trouble they were in, Serena couldn't help but tease her cousin. She only snicker in repsonse before extending a hand up and waving at a certain chestnut brown, spike haired boy._

_"Hey Gary, mind giving us a hand?"_

Looking back now, she really was idiotic for causing so much trouble for them and being the youngest of the group, it must had been stressful.

Belle yelp in some distance ahead of them, trying to call Serena over. Once they got to where the fire starter was, Serena knelt down to where Bell pointed. On the ground lay a badge in the shape of a brown beetle. She picked it up and examine it.

"Hey, that's the Bug Badge from Santalune Gym!" Austin pointed out.

"Bug Badge?" Serena repeated, wondering what was something like this doing here? Did someone dropped it? Whoever it was, they're careless of where they place the gym badges they earned.

"You're lucky! You got a badge without challenging the gym!"

Serena gave Austin an incredulous look. "What are you talking about? It's obviously someone else's belonging. And the badge is pointless if you didn't even work for it. That defeats the whole purpose of gym battles."

Austin blinked in astonishment. "You... That was the longest sentence you spoke since I met you!"

The brunette facepalmed. That just has to be the first thing that he says and a bit of a rude comment at that.

"Vivillon, psybeam!" came a female voice deep within the forest. In the next moment, they heard an explosion, followed by a few screams.

"What was that?!" Austin exclaimed in start.

"Don't know, but we're going to find out." Serena responded n a calmer manner than the youngster. "C'mon Belle."

Her Pokemon yelped in compliance and followed right after the brunette. Austin stood for a second before trying to catch up to her, telling her that it might be too dangerous for them.

When Serena got close, she hid behind a tree to analyze what was going on.

"As the concierge of this forest, I won't allow you to damage this place!" cried a blonde with a white tank top and green pants. A camera hanging from her neck. Next to her was a butterfly Pokemon with pink wings. Both of them looked to be a little injured, judging by the scratches on them, and exhausted.

Serena wasn't familiar with Kalos's Pokemon and her Pokedex can't register that data just yet, so she will be left clueless if she's to face an unfamiliar Pokemon. She made a mental note as to ask Prof. Sycamore to upgrade this Pokedex of hers once she got to Lumiose.

Luckily, the group of Pokemon that targeted the bug type she saw was composed of Pokemon from the Kanto region, which she recognized on the spot. It was a pack of Houndour and Golbat, led by a Houndoom

Her eyes flared up in loathing when she saw who was controlling them. It was a group of people in red suits, except in this one, there was a woman that stood out. She had blue lipsticks and hair instead of red, her outfit was more feminine with a blue tie instead of red. On her face was a pair of weird looking goggles that seemed to be calculating something.

"Do you really think you can beat us?" The woman sneered. "You only have one Pokemon left while we still have plethora of Pokemon! Not to mention we have to type advantage!"

The blonde growled and glared daggers in response.

"Houndoom," The woman with blue hair pointed at the blonde woman blatantly. "Use…"

"Hey! Err... I never got your name!" Austin finally caught up to Serena but he screamed out a little too loud. What was more was that he tripped and tumble out into the open, right in between the blonde's bug type Pokemon and the Houndoom.

The blue haired woman paused momentarily at the sudden appearance of a boy before smirking deviously. "...Flamethrower!"

"Watch out kid!" The blonde extended a hand out as if to get the youngster out of the predicament that he just got himself into. The boy closed his eyes and waited to be incinerated by the fire. Just then, Serena jumped in with Belle.

"Protect!" the brunette commanded.

Belle concentrated and a translucent green veil surrounded the three right when the fire hits the sphere and splatter in every direction.

"What are you?!" The brunette grabbed the boy by his collar and shook him violently. "An Idiot?! You could've been dead!" Everyone just stared blankly at their sudden appearances.

"Hm... looks like there are little kids that doesn't know what they're getting into," the blue haired woman commented, resting a hand on her hips. "Ever heard of 'curiosity kills the cat'?"

Serena dropped the now dizzy Austin onto the ground without a care and face the people in red, a glare plastered to her eyes.

"Not if the cat kills t first." Serena retorted with deep aversion. She didn't expect to run into these people so early but she'll take this chance for what they done!

"Feisty eh?" The woman smirked in amusement. "I like it."

"Be careful!" The blonde warned. "They're too dangerous! You can't handle them by yourself!"

"Viola have a point," The woman sneered, checking her nails. "You should take the gym leader's advice and scram before you get hurt."

She then looked at the glaring Fennekin in front of Serena. "Besides, that Pokemon of yours look pathetic!" She laughed sardonically.

Serena growled acrimoniously. "Don't insult my Pokemon! Belle, Flame Charge!"

The fire type barked and burst into a ball of fire before charging at the Houndoom.

"Dodge it." The woman said lazily with a wave of her hand. Houndoom jumped, letting Belle charge right through and hitting a few Houndour against tree trunks.

"Not bad," The blue haired woman remarked. "But can you withstand this? Houndoom, Crunch!"

"Jump off of him and use Flamethrower!" Serena commanded, thrusting her hand out in the process. She knew that Belle's attacks won't have much effect against another fire type but it was still something. She won't let someone insult her Pokemon and get away with it.

Just as Houndoom was about to bite Belle's small figure with his pointed jaws, the Fox Pokemon stepped onto Houndoom's mouth and jumped, doing a flip in the air and launching the ordered fire attack.

"What's this…" The woman muttered, adjusting her goggles to lock on the object on Serena's wrist. She smirked victoriously when she recognized the item.

"This is just perfect!" She laughed out loud, gaining a confused look from Serena. "We don't even need to scorch the forest down to search when the item we been looking for is right in front of us!"

She then commanded the other people in red to target Serena. While Serena was focusing on battling with Houndoom, an Air Cutter was send in her direction.

"Watch out!"

"What?" Serena looked behind her just in time to be pushed off to the side by Viola. There was a mini explosion once the attack hit the ground, propelling the two farther away.

Belle looked in shock as her trainer was sneak attacked, which was a bad idea since Houndoom took this chance to sink his teeth into her back.

_"ARGH!"_ Belle yelped as her back burned with searing pain.

_"Heh, you're pathetically weak."_ mocked the Houndoom when he jumped away. Belle glared at the Dark Pokemon.

_"Hmph, what an ill-mannered Pokemon!"_ she retorted, grinding her teeth together. _"You shouldn't underestimate me!"_

_"We'll see." _Houndoom ridiculed.

Belle had to fight on her own since Serena had her own problems as other Pokemon started attack her and Viola. Just when she was about to fire an attack, Houndoom used Foul Play. Belle's own attack turned against her.

She yelped as she recoiled back against the ground the Dark Pokemon towered over her when Belle tried to her up. He stomped a paw onto her back, stopping her from standing back up, and sink his claws into Belle's small body, causing the blood oozing out. But she refused to scream out in pain, for it will only give the enemy the satisfaction of seeing her in agony.

_"Like trainer, like Pokemon."_ He spat and pushed harder. _"Weak."_

_"You...Don't you dare mock my trainer!"_ Belle managed to spat out, gathering all her strength and burst into flames for another Flame Charge. But that was only enough to send the Houndoom off her back. If only she can go at full strength with this devil hound, then that should teach him a lesson to not mess with her, but... She glanced at the oval stone around her neck, she couldn't. She panted in heavy breathes as Houndoom got back up and comes at her with a Flamethrower.

_"Pathetic! You're a disgrace to all fire types!"_

_"I beg your pardon?"_ came a deep voice. A Fire Blast came from behind Belle and clash with Houndoom's fire. The Flamethrower was immediately pushed back and the Dark Pokemon recoiled against a tree trunk.

_"I believe you are the disgrace."_ There was a growl and a stomp right next to her. Belle looked up to see an Arcanine glowering at the Houndoom trying to stand up.

_"Belle was it?"_ He asked, looking over to the Fox Pokemon. The Fennekin could only nod in response for she didn't know what else to say. This Arcanine was one of the Pokemon companion that Serena introduced to her a few days ago, Archy if she recall. Just seeing the majestic canine standing firmly in front of her astounded her and that last fire attack took her breath away.

_"You should rest."_ He advised before disappearing in an orange blur.

"Belle!" Serena called out, running towards the injured Fennekin to catch her before she loses balance. "I'm so sorry for leaving you alone."

_"It's fine…"_ The Fennekin reassured but of course, Serena couldn't understand anything beyond the barking of the Pokemon's name but she knew her Fennekin was trying to reassure that she was fine.

The brunette's face was written with a pained expression seeing her Pokemon in such a state. She cradled the Fennekin in her arms and blaming herself for her condition. Did she made the wrong decision after all? Belle almost... an image flash at Serena's mind, turning her blood cold.

Belle'a tongue tickled as she licked her trainer's cheek in comfort, bring her back to reality. Serena looked at the Fox Pokemon who returned with a meaningful look then looked to the battle going on.

"Right, we need to focus on the current situation." Serena stood up with Belle in her arms. She looked back at how the others were holding up. She sighed in relief to see that Viola was back on her feet and fighting back with Austin doing the same. She didn't have to worry much anymore since her Arcanine had taken care of most of the Pokemon attacking them upon being called out.

Truthfully, she could see the spark of excitement in the Canine Pokemon's eyes when he came out and she wouldn't blame him for finally being able to go back onto the battle field though Serena, herself, wasn't sure if she should be happy to be back or not.

Her gaze went back to glowering at the woman with blue hair and the Houndoom that was not in combat with her Arcanine. "Archy, Roar!"

The Arcanine let out a mighty howl, it resounded through the air and threw Houndoom and a few Golbat back. Belle watched in awe as the Pokemon that was called out was knocking every one of the enemy down and cowering without a breaking sweat.

"Ho ho ho," The woman remarked. "It seems that I underestimated you. Perhaps you should join Team Flare. That Arcanine of yours will definitely fit in I dare say."

"Team Flare?" Serena scrutinized her brows, remembering that she faintly heard it before.

"That's who we're called," The woman thrust open both her arms in a welcoming gesture. " So how about you join us? I can put in a good word with the executive. After all, I'm Mable, one of Team Flare's top scientists."

"Flamethrower." Serena commanded in monotone as the answer. Like hell would she join the murders of her mother!

"Inferno." Mable ordered of her Houndoom, who let a burst of blue flames out of his jaws. Red and blue flames clash and created another mini explosion in the middle, causing a stalemate. Though the bits of flame flew onto trees and mushes, catching them on fire though Serena didn't heed to it when her concentration was somewhere else.

"I'll take that as a non," Mable said in mock disappointment. "To think I could be killing two Fletchling with one stone."

Serena remain silent, never taking her analyzing eyes off of Mable. The scientist seemed to have gotten a call and scowled upon answering it.

"Well, I'll let you off this time but the offer still stands." She said causally, fishing out a pokeball and tossing it up to reveal a flying type.

"Talonflame, get me out of here!" She commanded of the bird. He lifted the scientist while she returned her Houndoom.

"But if you refuse the next time we meet, I'll be taking that bracelet of yours by force!" Mable cackled as she leaves, causing the other Team Flare members to scramble up and escape. Without their leader, those grunts were practically useless.

Serena stared down at her black bracelet. What did they want with her bracelet? What was so special about it?

She only then smelled the scent of burning wood moments later and the call of Viola and Austin to help put it out.

"... Crap."

* * *

><p>Safety tip for trainers: Please refrain from battling with fire type Pokemon while in a forest. It can be hazardous to your health... along with the destruction of an important ecosystem.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_Eh bien? - Well?_

_concierge - caretaker_

_non - no_

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	10. Chapter 10 - Back to the City of Light

Chapter 10

**Sorry for those who are waiting for the chapter. I lost track of time... **

**If I have any grammar error or misspellings (Pretty sure there will be), feel free to point them out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>After putting out the fire before it started to spread, the - now - group of three made their way out of Santalune Forest, courtesy of Serena's Arcanine.<p>

"Slow down!" Austin whined, grabbing the Canine Pokemon's mane tighter as his face was buried within his fury. Serena rolled her eyes but didn't tell her fire type to slow down his pace. She didn't want to waste more time in the forest more than she already have. Besides, she have an injured Pokemon that needed to be treated in the Pokemon Center as fast as possible and a woman that needs medical attention because she passed out.

Serena couldn't help but feel calming to have the bypassing wind caress her face as she rode on Arcanine. It was as if her worries were gone with the wind, leaving her with peace. How she did not miss this sensation, she haven't a clue in the world.

Arcanine, despite being completely new to the Kalos region, knew the way out thanks to Austin's scent. Being a Pokemon with a great sense of smell, he can pick up the tiniest fragrance of aroma that distinguishes it from others, which was helping to guide him and his passengers out of the forest.

_"We're here." _Arcanine informed as he slowed to a stop in the city streets. Serena took notice of Arcanine's decreasing speed as the hint that they arrived.

Compared to Lumiose City, Santalune was the ideal spot to relax, judging by the structure of the houses and the refreshing air surround the area. Add in the lush greenery from the trees, bushes, flowers, patches of grass along with cafe that have tables set up outside, and a large fountain in the shape of a Roselia with gushing water spewing out of both rose - like hands to top it off, it gave off an air of peacefulness - for the lack of a better word. There were also public benches built around the city, giving the citizens a place to rest and just watch the scenery.

Of course, Serena didn't bother to take all of this in, even after the chaos that ensued in Santalune Forest.

"Where's the hospital?" the brunette inquired in slight urgency.

Austin, finally realized that they stopped, lifted his head up and turn his head back and forth. "We're in Santalune City?"

Serena resisted the urge to facepalm and nodded curtly before repeating her question. She needed to get Viola to the hospital, drop off the youngster to who-knows-where, and then go to the Pokemon Center to heal her Pokemon.

"Er..." Austin whacked his brain for the directions before pointing West. They followed Austin's directions and arrived to the hospital to have Viola checked up on.

Serena then told Austin to stay put to watch over the Santalune Gym Leader while she head to the Pokemon Center.

Once she got to the Pokemon Center, she gave her pokeballs to Nurse Joy and then checked the time. If she keeps going on detours, she'll be arriving to Lumiose City by nightfall. At least the city wasn't that far away, just a route to pass through and from what Serena heard, that route was more of a garden so she don't have to be wary of Pokemon attacks.

While her Pokemon heals from the trip, Serena didn't know what else to do while she waited.

"Might as well go back to check on Viola," she muttered. She didn't want to bother with something like that since she was in a rush to see how Prof. Sycamore was doing but the doctor told them to stay until the Gym Leader wakes up.

Serena was already tired as it is but ironically, she was restless. She got to the hospital, only to see Austin talking to some lady with brown hair with some strands collected into a tuft that protrudes from her forehead. She has green eyes and pale skin. The woman wore a tight black and red shirt, and the collar and cuffs are white. She also wears tight gray pants, brown boots and a fanny pack worn on the waist.

"Oh hey!" Austin piped when he noticed Serena's entrance. "You're back!"

He turned to the woman he was talking to and pointed at Serena. "She's the one I was talking about."

The woman nodded and walk forward towards Serena. "Hi there, my name's Alexa, a report for Lumiose Press and Viola's older sister."

"... Serena." the brunette hesitated.

"Hey! How come you tell her your name but you don't tell me?!" Austin complained childishly.

Serena rolled her eyes but didn't reply. Alexa chuckled, though oblivious to Serena's eye roll. "Austin here told me that you're the one that saved my sister, is that right?"

_If he told you already, why bother asking me? _Serena thought abrasively. "Yes."

"Then let me thank you for helping her," Alexa said gratefully. "I was in town just today when I got a call from the hospital that informed me of my sister's situation. You don't know how frantic I became! But I'm so glad that you two were there to help her!"

"Aw, it was nothing," Austin said while rubbing his nose, being flattered when there was no need to be.

Serena's silver eyes flickered with emotion for a second before settling back to their stony state.

Right... Of course Viola has family members who worries about her. Serena could empathize with what Alexa was saying... though no one did help her in those situations. Well, they did, but they were either too late or they chose to help her instead of others that were close to her.

"Say..." Alexa trailed off, studying Serena's face. "Have I seen you in Lumiose before?"

The brunette snapped out of her reverie to peer back at the woman suspiciously. "I don't think so."

Alexa mused for a moment before coming up with something. "Ah, I remember now! You're one of those who got involved in the accident with Garchomp and Tyranitar right?"

Serena remain silent but her desire to leave was increasing with every word that was spoke between them.

"No?" Alexa said with brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm pretty sure I read a report about the victims of -"

"Let's stop right there," Serena snapped and glared with a sudden rising anger. "I don't know what you're talking about and if you're here then I don't have a reason to stay here so I best be going now."

The brunette spun on her heel, her ponytail swishing in the same motion, and stomped off before neither Alexa or Austin could say anymore then they have. She didn't need some reporter to interview her on what happened and the other crap. She wanted to stay hidden as much as possible, so that once she finish off some business, she could return to her secluded life.

She walked back to the Pokemon Center and by the time she got back, Nurse Joy informed her that her Pokemon were all healed up and ready to be picked up. She thanked the nurse as she retrieve the pokeballs from the nurse's hands and waste no time in leaving the Pokemon Center.

Serena called out her Arcanine again once she was outside of the city and sped up the trip. Route 4 was indeed just like a well - kempt garden. Neatly trimmed hedges at every corner of the route were grown on certain spots so that they created a maze for people to walk and get lost into. Great idea to past time... unless you can't find our way out for as long as you're in there; might be hours, might be days.

There were an array of flowers planted that sway back and forth with a passing breeze. There were Pokemon that Serena could both recognize and not recognize that played out in the opening near the patches of flowers as if they were used to human interaction - probably has. From what Serena saw, there were Skitty, Ralts, Budew, a small white Pokemon holding up a red flower too big to be of any relevant to the Pokemon's size.

There might be more, but she didn't want to start a Pokemon scavenger hunt right now.

When they neared the middle of the suppose route, Serena saw the largest fountain she'd laid her eyes on yet. The fountain rim was of immaculate jade stone armored with stone colored in gold. At either side of the fountain, a platform was raised to twice the height of the fountain rim with two golden Horsea facing inward towards each other. Each Horsea was sprouting water out of their nose... or mouth, making an arch and traveling far enough to cross the one that the other made. In the middle stood a giant golden Clamperl sitting atop a circular tower, all around with water cascading down like a circular waterfall. The water that the golden Horea spray end exactly on the opposite ends of the Clamperl's... well, clam, adding water to the waterfall.

Serena stayed for a few seconds just to stare at the structure, wondering who in their right mind would built something so big and how much work it took to keep the thing so clean that you could practically eat off of the fountain's rim - not that she would do that of course. And the statues, they were _too_ bright, how could anyone look at those things without getting temporary blindness?

Okay, setting the fountain critique aside, Serena told Archy to keep going straight until they reach Lumiose. It was almost sunset and she was almost there. She just need to finish the last leg and she'll take a break for the night. She'll need to regather her strength after what happened today.

...

"Finally," Serena heaved a deep breath when she arrived at Lumiose City, slid off of Archy, and petting him around the cheek as a thank you before returning him to rest in his pokeball. "Still as impacted and noisy as ever."

The brunette mentally made a plan of what she was going to do and started walking through South Boulevard. First was to visit Prof. Sycamore at his second lab building and upgrade at pokedex of hers, and then she's going to sleep for the night because she's too damn tired to think or do anything else. This was what she get from not exercising for the past... five... or six years.

She strolled along the sidewalk, looking around and then froze.

... Where was it again? She wasn't paying attention the first time she went there, after the first building got demolished.

Serena heaved a frustrated sigh. _Maybe I should -_

Her train of thoughts were disrupted by suddenly colliding into someone. Serena fell onto her rear while the person she bumped into stumble back a few steps.

"Sorry," the person apologized, sounding a little out of breath as if the person just ran a mile. "are you okay?"

Serena felt the presence of a hand placed in front of her when her eyes were shut which led her to open them and let her eyes trail up to the owner. She met eye to eye with a boy around her age, with medium blonde hair and deep sea blue eyes. He wears a green jacket that left the collar unzipped, leaving it propped up and open. The jacket is accompanied by navy blue jeans and brown shoes.

The brunette let her gaze fall back to the offered hand for a split second before getting up by herself and dusting any particles that she may have accumulated on her red, high waist skirt.

"Fine." she muttered brusquely.

The blonde retracted his hand and stare at Serena with a curious, yet playful look.

The brunette caught his gaze and scowled. "What?" she didn't like to be gawked out, especially with those... analyzing eyes that reminded her of her own.

He smiled... or was it a smirk? He was a difficult person for Serena to read. "Nothing, you're just the exact opposite of a girl I know."

Serena returned his gaze with a deadpan look. "And you're telling me this because...?" she trailed off into a question, sounding a little harsher than she wanted but it's not like she cared what the other thought about her.

"You asked, didn't you?" he quipped.

"And I expected a short, one word answer," Serena retorted coldly. "Not the rest of the sentence."

The blonde said nothing, he only smiled... or smirk. Whichever one it was, it was irking the hell out of Serena. She couldn't tell what the guy in front of her is thinking, just like Campbell is at times... or is it Clain? Curtner?

"Anyways, I gotta go," the blonde male said with his hands in his pockets, breaking the silence between them and bringing Serena back from her name trouble. He began sauntering pass Serena as if he wasn't in a hurry before. "See ya, Icy."

It took a while for the last remark to sink into Serena and then she frowned in distaste._ That annoying idiot is going to get it if we ever cross paths again._

Why are Kalosians so dead set on giving people nicknames? Even to strangers that they met by accident. Maybe they're not familiar with the terms 'stranger danger.'

Just as the blonde disappear into the crowd, Serena noticed , from the corner of her eye, a few chattering reporters nearby and ordinary people. It looks as though they were ganging up on someone in the middle and she would hate to be that person right now.

Just looking at them remained her of how they were always trying to get an interview with her mother as well as from her from time to time. She grind her teeth in irritation.

Seriously, the paparazzi in Kalos were too nosy for their own good.

"Serena?"

* * *

><p>Yvonne and the others all stood in front of a large screen hanging outside of a business building, watching a certain friend of theirs battle yet another challenger. Barely ten minutes into the battle, the challenger was already losing with only two Pokemon left while the current Kalos Champion still have five.<p>

"He sure gotten stronger," Tierno remarked, watching and listening as the TV announcer commentated on the battle that was broadcast throughout the region.

There were other people watching as well, commenting at how strong Calem was. There were girls that was squealing in delight as the camera gain a closer up at their object of adoration.

"And gained a lot of fans," Trevor added, trying to muffle out the screams with his hands.

Shauna frowned as she noticed something. "But he isn't happy is he?"

'What?" Trevor cast a quick look at his pig tailed friend before returning to the screen so that he could analyze Calem's expression.

Indeed, Calem wasn't all that interested in the battle at all, he looked bored out of his mind; but wasn't he like that all the time?

"He just don't have anyone that can fight him on equal terms," Yvonne commented absentmindedly. Shauna steer her head in Yvonne's direction.

"Aren't you just just as stronger as he is Nène ?" she queried.

The blonde shook her head sadly. "I always lose to him whenever we battle. Even in practice matches, Calem always got one over me. But..." Yvonne looked back up at the screen.

"He wasn't like this before..." she balled her hands into fists, remembering how she could always see a spark of excitement in Calem's eyes when they battled during their travel. The genuine smile that would always show up after a battle. But after defeating her in the Victory Road and becoming Champion, Calem lost that glint.

Yvonne missed it, she wished that she could bring it back but she just wasn't strong enough. She knew she wasn't strong when she noticed that Calem was holding back during one of the Pokemon battles that they have after he became Champion. She entered the Pokemon League and defeat the Elite Fours before but she just couldn't seem to win one over Calem.

It was always down to her last exhausted Pokemon while Calem still have two Pokemon that haven't been send onto the field yet.

"And the winner is the defending champion, Calem Xander!" the announcer commentated as the camera zoomed in one Calem when he was returning his Absol.

"I'm going to take a stroll," Yvonne said to her friends as she walked away. Shauna and her two remaining friends exchange worried looks, wondering why Yvonne wasn't her usual cheerful self.

"Do you think Cal's recent mood is bothering her?" Tierno inquired. "He has been a little more stress than usual and he doesn't look like he wanted to talk to anyone at all."

"Maybe we can find some way to cheer both of them up!" Shauna chirped with a a playful glint in her eyes.

Trevor sighed, knowing where this conversation was going to lead to. "Why can't we just stay out of their business? Your plans always end up getting us in trouble of any kind."

Shauna rolled her eyes. "Trevs, you need to be more adventurous! What's the good of traveling around the entire Kalos region if you hadn't learn anything from it?"

Tierno chuckled lightly, "She got you there Trevs!"

"Shut up." the small teen muttered, averting his gaze.

Shauna took her Holo Caster from her purse. "Okay, I'm going to call Calem over and we could do something fun together!"

...

Yvonne sat down on a park bench, facing other people strolling and talking to each other. She heaved a sigh and look up at the sky aimlessly.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite little ray of sunshine," came the sneering of a familiar voice.

"Huh?" Yvonne snapped her neck back to face forward to find the blonde male that she meet a while ago smirking at her. She didn't know whether she should be annoyed by Xavier's presence or happy about it. She definitely feel a little happy that she got to talk to him again although the last time they met, it wasn't a good start.

"What are you still doing here?" she queried simply.

"Aw, is my presence not good enough for you Princess?" Xavier said with a smile but Yvonne could detect a tinge of sarcasm in his tone. Still, she couldn't help but let heat rise to her cheeks when he called her Princess.

She let her blush fade quickly and cross her arms. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

Xavier shrugged, placing his hands in his green jacket. "Never hurts to try don't you think?"

"You never know," Yvonne had a small smirk of her own playing on her lips. "I might just punch you in the face for it. Pretty sure that will hurt."

The blonde male chuckled and then leaned in closer to Yvonne. "Are you sure you can bring yourself to ruin such a handsome face?"

Again, heat rise up to her cheeks but she quickly hide it with a glare while pushing Xavier away to get her personal space back. "I will and you never answered answer my question. Shouldn't you already leave Lumiose already?"

The boy decided to take a seat next to her with a subtle grunt. He lifted one leg over the other before answering. "I got lost and didn't know how to get out of this place."

"... You're joking right?" Yvonne deadpanned. She didn't belive in the boy's words. How could anyone get lost for three weeks that they been to Lumiose? It was just impossible.

"No, I'm Charles II," Xavier replied with a causal roll of his eyes. "Of course I was joking but is it a crime to be here? I think not. And I just so happen to see in this park and you were looking a little out of it so I thought: why not come over and see what's up? So, what's up?"

"You know, the sky, clouds, birds, planes," Yvonne joked. His answer was too vague for her taste but she'll let it slide. Why should she care if he stays in Lumiose or not?

"Hah, hah, you're hilarious," Xavier said sarcastically, moving his head side to side once. "You should be a comedian."

"Hmph, why should I share my problems with you?"

"Because you're the ever-so-optimist who trusts anyone that you meet in a day's time span, enough to consider them as friends." the boy replied ever so causally.

That easily made yvonne's blood boil to the extent that steam was coming off of her head. "WHAT?!"

Unfortunately for Xavier, he was sitting right next to the screeching girl that her voice was as loud as spears on maximum volume. He immediately clamp his ears shut before casting a glance at the enraged blonde girl next to him.

Oops. Looks like he overdid it; but he did enjoy teasing her.

"Er... oh well you look at to time," Xavier said quickly, looking at his invisible wristwatch, and stood up. "I should get going! See ya!"

"HEY!" Yvonne bellowed, earning some strange looks from passerbys but she didn't care. Her eyes were on the running blonde male and she wasn't going to let him off the hook for making fun of her. "GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW XAVIER! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"

"Sorry but I would like to live a little longer, Y!" Xavier laughed while he sprinted off.

Yvonne's anger ceased for a moment but she still continue to chase after the teen. "Why what?"

Before she could get an answer, she saw Xavier colliding with someone but she couldn't go help him because she was pulled over by a reporter a second after. They were asking her random questions that she then gain attentions of other people. How exactly did she become popular? Oh yeah, it was because she was Calem's rival, made a few PVs, and someone who was directly involved in the incident that happened about a month ago.

She was finding being in the spotlight a little too annoying. Why can't they just lay off the gossip and do some actual reporting?

"U-um..." Yvonne tried to speak over the people talking to her with her hands up in front of her in defense. She tried to look over people's head to see if Xavier was still there but he wasn't. Instead, she saw - "Serena?"

Said girl flinch upon hearing her name being called and looked over to crowd again to find a pair of familiar emerald eyes staring back at her. What was her name again? Yasmin? Yancy? Wait, wasn't that the name of some famous pop idol in Unova?

Yvonne snuck away from the crowd and stood in front of the brunette. "It really is you!"

_Well aren't you the Sherlock. _Serena thought sarcastically.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Yvonne chirped and then took her by the arm. "Let's talk over a drink!"

"W-wha...?" Serena was completely caught off guard by the friendly action. Since when the hell did they become such good friends that they could 'talk' over something to drink?! And why wouldn't she be okay?

Yvonne led Serena away from where they were . They stopped and sat outside of a cafe, both of them ordering something to drink.

"Just a random question but have you seen a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes?"

"..." Serena deadpanned at her, looked at the people walking pass, and then face back to her with the unchanging expression. "There are a lot of people that fit that description."

"Oh... ehehe..." Yvonne sweatdropped while feeling like she was having deja vu. "I mean, blonde hair, blue eyes, green jacket, blue jeans."

"... The guy with the idiotic attitude?"

"H-huh?" The blonde stared at the brunette dumbly.

Serena sighed, "yes, I have. And I assume he's a friend of yours?"

"Well..." Yvonne began, tapping a finger to her chin. Serena immediately knew that this was going to be a long topic that she didn't want to hear but Yvonne already started before Serena could stop her.

She would leave but... she already ordered her drink. She didn't want to her money to go to waste. And Yvonne would probably drag her back before she could get far anyways so what was the point?

Serena then figured out that she would need something more than just a cup of thé au lait to last the entire rant that Yvonne already started.

* * *

><p>Calem shook hands with the challenger, mindlessly commenting that the challenger just needed more practice and all the other things that a champion was supposed to say to people after battling.<p>

Once he exit out of the Champion's room, Calem was greeted by the Elite Four Drasna, a woman who looks to be in her late fifties. She wears a long, dark reddish brown dress that goes down near to her shoes. Along with the dress, she wears a type of Dragon accessory that were lined with Dragon Teeth. The shoes that she wears were high heels that were forged out of Dragon teeth in the front. Her hair is a dark-blue-ish purple, and it floats in the air quite gracefully.

"My my, that was quite the quick battle," Drasna commented.

"Consider he defeat you four, I thought that he would be a challenge," Calem said causally and shrugged. "but he was just like all the others. Where are the others?"

"Let's see now..." the Dragon trainer mused. "Wikstrom already headed back to his training regiment, Malva has to do another broadcast at the TV station, and Siebold returned to his restaurant."

Calem scratch the back on his head while his free hand was put on his waist. "They sure have busy lives."

Drasna chuckled. "You can say that for them, being part of the Elite Four is merely a hobby to their daily lives though they do take their jobs seriously. But you, being the Champion, have much more responsibilities."

The raven haired teen rolled her eyes. "Where have I heard that before? But I'm failing miserably at it..."

"It's the effort that counts."

Calem's Holo Caster rings off, interrupting the conversation. He took the device out to found the caller ID belonging to Shauna. "Sorry, I gotta go." he aplogized, knowing what Shauna wants before he even answers her call.

Drasna nodded and watched as Calem disappear into the depths of the hallway. "What will you do once the wait is over?"

...

Once Calem arrived into Lumioe City, he decided to take a stroll before meeting up with his friends; which led his thoughts to wander from place to place. His eyes looked around the city until they landed on something that caught Calem's entire attention. He suddenly stop in his tracks and stare across the street in surprise.

Was he seeing things?

She shook his eye and look again, nope. Serena was definitely sitting across the street, in front of a cafe, talking to Yvonne... Or rather, it was listening to Yvonne talk. Though Serena looked as though she was zoned out while looking down on her drink with her head rested on her hand.

Calem have the sudden urge to walk over to them and talk to Serena but what was he going to say? Last time he tried talking to her, it didn't end well. He wasn't given a chance to talk to her ever since.

While he was thinking, his body switched to auto pilot and led him to where the two girls were sitting at.

"The Carmel Apple ones are definitely the best!" Yvonne somehow went off track of the original topic and wounded up talking about different types of parfait. "Don't you think so - Caly!"

The blonde notice Calem once he was in her peripheral vision. Calem snapped out of his thoughts when Yvonne called out to him. He only then realize that he was standing right in front of them.

"Oh... uh, hey." he greeted awkwardly with a wave of his hand.

"Hm?" Serena seem to have finally been brought out of her own reverie at the abrupt stop of Yvonne's jabbering, which was a relief - not that she was listening anyways.

When she saw that Yvonne was looking at something, she wondered what she was looking at. And so, her gaze trail to someone standing in front of their table.

"Oh."

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations:<strong>

_Thé au Lait - milk tea_

**Yeah, I don't know why but I felt like describing things in a lot of details in this chapter... as you can see what I did with the fountain in Route 4, hence why this chapter's so... long, almost 5k.**

**I'll sign off here. Until next time,**

**~Lily**


	11. Chapter 11 - Poppies and Blackouts

Chapter 11

**New chapter! And I'm starting to write longer ones now XD**

**If I have any grammar error or misspellings, feel free to point them out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>"Caly!"<em>

_"Oh... uh, hey."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Oh."_

If any adjective could have describe the current situation right now, it would definitely by awkward - at least for Calem. Yvonne looked cheerful to see her friend/rival/crush while Serena... Well, let's just say she's passive about it even though there was something else written on her face. The brunette just stared up at the awkwardly positioned ravenette trainer but then returns to gulping down her drink.

Calem didn't think he would see Serena so soon, yet here she is, sitting in front of a cafe as if she does that everyday. But when he does wanted to talk to her, with Serena being placed right in front of him, his words were lost before he could even form them. What was he supposed to say? hey, sorry for saving her instead of her mother and didn't even attend the funeral? Yeah, sure, that will rack up some friend points with the reclusive brunette.

Instead, he went with - "Sorry, did I interrupt you two?"

_No, just her. _Serena thought, she would say it but she didn't feel the need to.

"You kind of did," Yvonne chirped sheepishly. "Serena and I were just chatting."

"Chatting?" Calem repeated, lifting an eyebrow. He really can't imagine Serena talking with Yvonne - actually he couldn't imagine himself engulfing in one of Yvonne's conversations. He would probably fall asleep once she started to ramble. He doesn't know a lot about girls and their gossips but were they supposed to talk for three hours nonstop? Because that's how long the last one lasted and Calem was simply dying of boredom. Not that he has anything against Yvonne, it was just that the things she talked about was irrelevant to him. And when he does speak up, his own voice was drowned with the endless chatter.

"Yep," Yvonne replied and turn to Serena who seem to have found interest in a billboard somewhere in the distance. "Right Serena?"

It took a moment for Serena for the brunette to response and when she did - "Sorry, but you were saying?" Calem doubted that she meant it as a churlish remark but he couldn't help but snicker at her response. He's going to take a gamble here but Serena probably zoned out during the entire talk session.

Yvonne resisted the urge to twitch her eye since she now knew that the brunette in front of her wasn't paying attention at all in their chitchat- or to be more specific, _her_ _bloviate_.

Serena sighed in exasperation and got up, checking the time on her Holo Caster, which caught both Yvonne's and Calem's attention.

"When did you -"

"Sorry, but I need to get going." Serena cut in shortly as if they did not speak at all. "And I'm sure you two have places to go as well. We been here for... three hours... No wonder it's dark already." she muttered the last part under her breath. She couldn't believe she had been sitting around, doing absolute nothing instead of returning to why she was here in the first place. This was a complete waste of her time of all times.

She called for a waiter for the bill and paid the for the tea she ordered... repeatedly if she might add while Yvonne's glass remained untouched. As she was paying, a thought crossed her mind. She still didn't know where Prof. Sycamore's lab is at... She cast a glance over to Yvonne who was now jabbering to Calem about who-knows-what.

She could ask for one of them to show her the way or just ask for directions... though the latter was probably a bad idea since Serena hasn't completely familiarize with Lumiose City yet. The brunette carefully thought of her choices. She doubt that the blonde -Yawn was it?- would be a good choice because off her tendency to talk... which Serena could gain a migraine from. Clam would be a better choice but... she seemed to have the urge to just... ignore him. He seemed like the silent types, like her, but she doubt that she will feel comfortable around him and talking would probably make it worse.

_... Ask for directions it is. _She decided mentally, wanting to avoid having to walk to her Uncle's with either of the two standing in front of her.

"Excuse me," Serena said bluntly, approaching the two. And thankfully, she only have to speak once to catch the two trainers' attention. She thought that they would be too distracted in whatever they were talking about. But when Serena saw that Calem looked visibly relieved for her to have interrupted them, she had second thoughts.

"Do you happen to know where... Prof. Sycamore's new lab is located?" she hesitated to say her uncle's name since she was afraid that she couldn't remember, hence why she always preferred to refer him as 'uncle' but she didn't want to seem conceited for referring to Prof. Sycamore as uncle when he's not around. If she had done that, it would sound like she was bragging about how the 'world re-owned Professor' - or so Calem had once said - was her uncle.

Calem blinked before answering. "Yeah... You don't remember where it is?" Sometimes, he wonders if Serena has short term memories.

Serena averted her gaze, turning her head slightly. She didn't want to admit the fact that she did forget, but in her defense, she wasn't paying attention the one that she was there; there were other, more important matters in her mind that time.

"... That's none of your business." Serena snapped.

Calem curved his lips upward into a smirk, one that irked the brunette for unknown reasons. He have completely forgotten the awkwardness he felt earlier and took on to teasing Serena. "Really? Then I'm pretty sure it's not in my business to tell you either."

The brunette glared with an eye twitching in irritation. She just found more reasons to stay away as far as possible.

"Well, thanks for _not _doing business with you." Serena effectively masked her annoyance with an impassive look and look over to Yvonne for any answers. "Since Camel isn't going to hel -"

"The name's Calem." the raven haired champion interjected nonchalantly.

"Does it look like I care Caviler?" Serena snapped back with yet another incorrect name. She was about to continue her question when Calem took her by the arm and dragged her away, catching the brunette and the blonde off guard.

"Yvonne, tell Shauna and the others that I'm going to be late," Calem called over Serena's protest. "if you haven't got her message yet, search our Holo Caster. I need to teach this girl here how to remember people's names."

"I don't need you to teach me!" Serena snarled back, trying to break away from Calem's surprisingly strong yet gentle grip. "Let me go Clam!"

Yvonne watched, speechless as to what just happened. She felt a pang of jealousy towards Serena since she rarely seen Calem behave like that before, but she treminded herself that the brunette has no interest in Calem and it doesn't seem like she will develop any anytime soon.

Instead, she checked her Holo Caster to find Shauna's message. She must have missed it during the evens of the afternoon.

...

Serena sighed as Calem continued to pull her further away from where they were last. She didn't think he would be stopping anytime soon but when he did, there was little warning, which made Serena collide with his back. The brunette recoiled a little from the collision while Calem circle around to apologize and to hold her steady.

"... Next time, give a little warning when you decide to stop." Serena seethed, rubbing her nose where it hurts the most with one hand while the other one went to brush Calem's hand off of her shoulder.

Nothing was said between them as they stood in place, among the other people who were busying themselves with going to their next destination. Serena scanned around while Calem fidgeted, which wasn't like him at all.

He was mentally scolding himself for not being able to talk what was on his mind... again. How he was unable to, he didn't know. He never had this kind of trouble until now. With a girl no less.

"Where are we?" Serena asked after completing her scan. She didn't really recognize the part of the city they were in, especially when night is coming and Lumiose was taking on another appearance. Compared to the daytime Lumiose, it was calmer at night and more beautiful.

"Um..." Calem replied uncertainly as he looked around. "it looks like we're in Autumnal Avenue."

"Oh, like that would clear anything up." Serena deadpanned.

Calem rolled his eyes and gestured for the brunette to follow. "C'mon, you wanted to go to Prof. Sycamore's right?"

Serena merely raised an inquiring brow sine she never stated that she wanted him to take her there. but she was in no mood to argue right now, she just want to get there.

The two walked in relative peace with Calem guiding and Serena a little behind him. The brunette was all for the quietness, however uncomfortable it was, but the raven haired champion just has to ruin it moments later.

"Sorry." he stated vaguely and sadly.

Serena stared at him, trying to figure out what he was apologizing about. There are plenty of things he could be apologizing for since they met but she didn't know which one.

"For?" the brunette urged him to elaborate so that she knows exactly what he is going on about.

He stopped walking, and this time, Serena didn't hit him from behind. Serena waited in silence for a detailed explanation. Calem seemed to be deep in thought, suggesting to Serena that he's trying to carefully plan out what he is going to say and arranging the right words for it.

_He's so concentrated. _Serena remarked mentally while analyzing his expression. It was void of every emotion but concentration. It was really hard for Serena to tell what Calem was thinking, just like that blonde from earlier though his were more playful than Calem's.

He intake a large amount of oxygen, only to let it out in as a vexed sigh. "For... For incapable of saving her." he answered finally, facing Serena with a look full of guilt.

Serena merely remain silent and continue looking at the teen that was now at her side. So what was what he was talking about. Is that what has been troubling him since he saw her today?

The brunette didn't know how to respond to his apology. It was definitely not his fault that her mother is gone so she didn't see why he was - her train of thoughts were stopped abruptly when she remembered the vivid, acrimonious rebukes that she shot at him when she was in an emotional turmoil.

_"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE MY MOM?! " Serena burst out in angry tears, causing Calem to freeze at her sudden upsurge in volume. "YOU COULD'VE SAVED HER BUT YOU DIDN'T! NOW SHE'S GONE!"_

_"Wh -"_

_Calem couldn't finish his question when he felt the surge of pain across his right cheek, sending his head jerking in another direction. The resounding slap of the brunette's hand against the face of the boy echoed in the space surrounding them as if they were the only two that were there right now._

_"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAVE ME ARCEUS DAMMIT! BECAUSE OF YOU, I JUST LOST ONE MORE! WHAT KIND OF CHAMPION ARE YOU?!"_

Riiiight. She hasn't settle that matter with anyone yet, she'd just come to a consensus with herself that it was wrong of her to blame it on someone who was just trying to help.

She averted her gaze, looking forward instead.

Calem took Serena's silence response, thinking that she was too upset to talk. But before he could speak again, Serena beat him to it, surprising him as well.

"It wasn't your fault," she simply stated. "so don't beat yourself over it."

From her peripheral vision, she could see Calem shaking his head solemnly and his shoulders slumped, as if he was weighing the whole world on his shoulders and probably is - at least Kalos anyways. In short, he was beginning to look for for his age.

"No, it was my fault. What kind of champion am I if I couldn't even secure people's own lives from danger?"

Silence was the only response but Calem didn't mind it. He chuckled at his own state. "You know, I used to dream of challenging the Kalos League and defeat the champion. But now, I don't even know if it was worth the trouble. I mean, I have absolutely nothing to look forward to now that I became the champion. I thought that I'll be able to relax but instead, I'm more stress than before. I used to battle so I can take my mind off of things but now, they're just meaningless Pokemon battles. Not one trainer that I have faced so far was able to give me a run for my title and I'm starting to doubt I'll ever be able to meet one."

He didn't know why he was spilling his thoughts onto Serena, he was skeptical that she was even listening to his rant as evidence was shown from her zoning out while listening to Yvonne talk. But the brunette was listening, hanging onto every word that came out of his mouth.

When Serena turn wheel around to see Calem's pitiful state, she spoke in an unwavering and commanding tone. "Stop slouching and look up."

Calem obliged, though he was slightly astonished to see the sternness of her steel gray orbs, mixed with a determined spark.

"You said that it was your dream to be the champion?" she asked rhetorically. "Then why are you doubting yourself if it was worth it? Shouldn't you be happy that you reached your goal. There are plenty of people out there with the same aim as yours but guess what, they didn't accomplished what you did. So that a bit of pride in that well you?"

"And what do you mean there is absolutely nothing to look forward to? There are other adventures that you can go on, if not, make one of your own. You're not restricted to only Kalos you know. Its a vast world out there so don't take it for granted. Besides, you will be able to meet other trainers from different regions who can fight you on equal grounds if you want them to. You're not the only champion out there, other regions have their own champions who are looking for a challenge, just like you are. So wait, you'll bound to meet one soon. What use of a champion are you when you're in this kind of pitiful state?"

Calem soaked all of this in with shock. Flabbergasted that he was being scolded at by Serena, who didn't seem like she care for anyone outside of her tiny circle. And what's more, she was listening to what he was saying.

Serena inhaled after that monologue and her expression softened enough to notice if one were to look carefully. "Don't be discourage so easily. You have friends and your family who will support you, and help when you're stressed or troubled, including your Pokemon. You'll be an idiot if you take them for granted."

It was strange, why the brunette even bothered with the raven haired teen was beyond her. She just flt the urge to wipe that dishearten look from Calem's face. It didn't suit him at all.

Calem's lips slowly curved upward into a small but grateful smile. "You're very insightful, you know that?"

Serena rolled her eyes, her irritation showing on her face again. "Shut up and show me to the lab already." she pouted slightly, showing a bit of her childish side which was new to Calem, though he doubted Serena was aware of her own expression. He wished that she would talk more and show this side of her more often.

He likes this side.

"What?" Serena snapped, seeing the amusement on Calem's face.

"I didn't think you would listen." Calem chuckled but resumed walking nonetheless, with Serena following, side by side.

"Be glad that I'm too tired to tune you out," the brunette retorted. "your rant was more relevant than Yell's."

Calem stifled a laugh at yet another of Serena's failed attempt to learn someone's name, though... he does wonder...

"Are you really having trouble remembering people's names?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" the brunette responded snappily. Calem kept the smile, being all unfathomable again, to Serena's annoyance.

"I got it," the raven haired teen snapped his finger as his suddenly spoke up out of the blue - or the night in this case. Serena's brows her scrunched together in a baffled look, unable to comprehend what he was yapping about now.

"You're going to be Poppy." he said, his smile turning more into a smirk every passing second.

It took a whole minute for Serena's expression to slowly loosen up and into her usual scowling, but this time, her eye was twitching. "You did not."

"What? Or do you prefer Pavot?" he continued to tease.

"... That means the same thing!" Serena seethed. "Just in Kalosian!"

"Oh?" Calem's eyes seemed to be sparkling with mischievous now. "Vous savez donc comment parler et comprendre maintenant?"

"Don't mock me by speaking your native tongue!" Serena riposted, rising her voice by an octave. The raven haired champion let out genuine laughter and ran off before the brunette could get her hands on him.

Serena didn't know why she even bothered to chase him but she knew one thing, she hates to be called 'Poppy.' And she also learn that Calem was easier to talk to than she had anticipated.

It reminded her of when she used to chase this one boy around when she was little. But she can't quite make out who he was.

_"Tag, you're it!" the little boy tapped little Serena's shoulder before running off._

_"Hey!" Serena exclaimed in alarm, for he had sneaked up on her out of nowhere while she was catching her breath. She thought that he was chasing Leaf or one of her other friends around. "That's not fair!"_

_Regardless of her complaints, Serena chased after the boy with all the energy that she had regain but she just couldn't catch up to him._

_"You can't catch me, Slowpoke!" the boy laughed._

_Serena pouted and quick her pace. When she got close enough to tag him on the back, she extend out her hand._

But she didn't reach it. Everything went black as if her frontal lobe decided to shut down. And coincidentally, the lights around the city starts to burn out, section by section, leaving the entire city in a black out - or at least that's what Serena thought.

You can tell that Lumiose City have too much lights around by looking up to the sky. It was blotted with glittering dots of stars, contrast to the empty night sky before the black out. If people weren't busy worry about what was going on, they would be awe - struck by the night view.

There were murmurs around Serena, some asking for what was going on while others asked if this was some kind of joke.

Serena herself was a little confounded by the sudden darkness.

The brunette felt a touch on her shoulder, causing her instincts to fire away. She turned around sharply, delivering a punch to the figure behind her. However, her reflex was stopped when a hand held her fist midway.

"Whoa!" said the figure, who slowly came into recognition. "I didn't think you could be that violent!"

Serena glared at the raven haired boy. Even in the dark, she could see him as clear as it were day. Maybe the starry sky have something to do with it.

"Do that again and I'll personally make sure you will not be seeing the lights of Lumiose ever again." The brunette growled, reeling back her arm. Calem stared at her blankly and averted his gaze slightly.

"I was just making sure that I didn't lose you." he muttered, with a tiny hint of hurt in his tone.

Serena didn't detect it; instead, she survey her surroundings again. There wasn't any sign of the electricity flowing back, conveying that this was no normal outage. If it was, then the backup generators would have activated, temporarily supply power while workers find what was wrong.

Why exactly was there a blackout all of a sudden anyways? She doubted anyone would know the answer but she'll find out sooner or later. She can't seem to catch a break today... or tonight.

"What do you think is the cause of the blackout?" Calem mused.

She scoffed in return. "If you ask me, who am I suppose to ask?"

Sirens drowned the citizen's disconcerted murmurs. Serena and Calem looked ahead to see flashing of red and blue as well as headlights of cars, indicating that the police was going to be doing there jobs.

Serena couldn't help but think that the police is reacting faster than last time. But she was dubious that they'll be of any help in solving this mystery since they will have to calm the already panicking people.

The brunette decided that seeing Prof. Sycamore could wait until later. She made a step forward, only to be pulled back by Calem.

"Where are you going?"

"None of your business." Serena retorted, swatting his hand away from her.

He got a call on his Holo Caster and was immediately showing Shauna as the hologram when he answered. He gave the brunette a 'don't move' look before giving his location to Shauna's question.

Serena rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time but complied to his silent demand. Why was she listening to the likes of him? Yet she waited until he ended the call.

"Shouldn't you go back to your friends?" the brunette questioned immediately after he put away his Holo Caster. Calem gave her a strange look before answering.

"You're a friend too."

"Since when?"

"A year ago."

"..."

A smirk etched its way across his face, which gave Serena the urge to smack him in the face just to get rid of it.

"I never agreed to that," Serena said finally and harshly before circling around. She took another step, only to be peeved by one who also took one step forward in an attempt to follow her.

"If you're going to follow me, then at least be of some use to solving this blackout issue and bringing the power back to the city." Serena berated, accidentally let slip of what she was going to do.

"You sure know how to ask for help while insulting someone at the same time." he quipped, entertained despite the issue at hand.

"Whatever you say Clemont." the brunette responded nonchalantly.

"That's not even close to my name!"

"Did I hear someone calling me?" came a male voice. As if on cue, two blondes came into view. One male and the other, female. The boy was taller and older than the girl with the side ponytail clipped with a orange clip. He wore a blue jumpsuit, round glasses, and a machine-like backpack. The younger of the blonde wore a brown shirt with black bow centered around the neckline. She had a white short skirt while wearing black tights under. A single-strapped bag slung around the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, hey Clemont." greeted Calem, with a feeble wave.

"Long time no see Calem!" Clemont smiled back.

"Oh my gosh!" The little girl squealed suddenly, seeing Serena. "You look like a model!" She then pirouette in circles, all the while approaching the brunette. She knelt down to one knee and extended out an arm up to Serena while the other was at her chest.

"Please take my Big Brother's hand in marriage!"

Serena peered down blankly at the girl for suddenly blurting out nonsense while the two older boys had twin reactions. Shock and disbelief.

"WHAT?!" Calem and Clemont exclaimed in unison. The blonde pressed a button on the strap of his large backpack and an arm, resembling that of an Aipom's, extended out and grabbed the girl by the scruff of her collar to bring her back to his side.

"B-Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed in embarrassment. "Y-you c-can't just say that in front of people you're not familiar with!"

"I...have to agree." Calem strangely did not enjoy the idea of Serena going out with someone.

Bonnie, the girl's name, pouted and stomped her foot childishly.

"But Big Brother! I'm trying to get you a girlfriend!"

"Ack!" Clemont panicked, flailing his arms about and still red. "What are you thinking?! You can't just do that!"

"Then why don't you man up?"

"Uh...hate to break up this...quarrel," Serena said uncertainly. "But who are you guys?"

"Oh I'm Clemont," said the blonde male, adjusting his glasses before gesturing to the little girl beside him. "And this is my little sister, Bonnie."

"My brother is Lumiose city's gym leader!" The little blonde added.

"Oh." was all the brunette can say but then eyed Clemont with narrowed eyes. "Wait... weren't you the one in the PV that I saw a while ago? Something about a machine exploding in you and your Pokemon's face."

Calem suppressed a snicker while the blonde gym leader was beet red in embarrassment. Serena raised a quizzical brow at his silence.

"What did I tell you Bonnie?!" he exclaimed to his younger sister, his voice was almost whiny. "That video only made me look like an idiot!"

"But I was just trying to make you more popular!" Bonnie pouted again, folding her arms. Clemont only sighed in exasperation, thinking that this was no time for a discussion about his sister trying to get him a girlfriend.

"Ahem," Calem faked a cough to get them out of the awkward topic. "setting that aside, what are you two doing here?"

"The power went out while I was in the middle of one of my inventions -"

"Again." Bonnie interrupted.

" -And since I'm the gym leader, I have the responsibility of finding out the cause." Clemont finished while casting a disapproving frown at his sister for interrupting him.

"I see... Have you checked the power plant?" Calem suggested.

Clemont shook his head. "That's the thing. The road to the power plant was blocked off by road construction so we couldn't get through."

"Isn't there another way?" She inquired of them. Calem contemplated for a second before answering.

"There is but that's to go all the way around," He explained but then elaborated when he remembered that Serena didn't know the exact places they will have to go through. "It means that we'll have to pass through a few towns and cities such as Cyllage and Shalour."

"And that will take too long." Clemont stated the obvious.

"...You got to be kidding me…" The brunette said flatly.

Calem mulled over what to do until he looked up into the sky and got an idea. "Why don't we just fly there?"

* * *

><p><strong>Frenchlations (I don't know my french so correct me if I'm wrong):<strong>

_Pavot - Poppy_

_Vous savez donc comment parler et comprendre maintenant? __- So you know how to speak and understand it now?_

**If you're wondering, I searched up the meaning of poppy flowers and different colors of it meant different meanings. There are two possible meanings for the one that Calem gave to Serena. I would tell you but it's more fun f you find it out yourself :)**

**And thanks to Cottonmouth25, QLKwriter, and RoseOfTruth for reviewing!**

**Reviews are nice but you don't have to push yourself if you don't want to.**

**I'll be signing off until next time!**

**~ Lily**


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